


Pancakes

by mylittlesyn



Series: To: My Loving Star [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bondage, Break Up, Canon Compliant, Dissociation, Dom/sub, Drama, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Love, Making Love, Mental Breakdown, Nudity, POV Second Person, Porn With Plot, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Power Play, Public Nudity, Romance, Rough Sex, S&M, Smut, hard and fast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:34:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 49
Words: 159,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26856019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylittlesyn/pseuds/mylittlesyn
Summary: I was watching Naruto fully for the first time and I just kinda had feels pouring out of me. I hope you enjoy them.I'm just going to lay this out there outright. If you're looking for something super fluffy, or characters who are perfect, where everything works and 'I love you no matter what' because everything is always perfect, or silly tantrums that could've easily been talked out as the form of angst... Don't look here. Relationships take work and I believe that that will make them stronger if two vastly imperfect people work on themselves together... Grow together. There's going to be a lot of angst. (I love writing angst). But it's always constructive and helps build them up. That being said, there are fluffy moments, and when they have them... So please, enjoy!Excerpt:The man undressed and got into the pond somewhat awkwardly. While still looking down at her dog, she kept an eye on him in her periphery. The shinobi outfit he wore was pretty typical, but he added a mask that covered his mouth and nose. There was a silence with tension forming between them, but soon the man just took a deep breath, floated on his back, and let out a deep sigh and with it the tension he felt released.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Original Female Character(s), Hatake Kakashi/Original Character(s), Hatake Kakashi/Original Female Character(s), Sarutobi Asuma/Yuuhi Kurenai
Series: To: My Loving Star [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959169
Comments: 16
Kudos: 48





	1. Our Spot

**Author's Note:**

> So the warnings are labeled as ****TW**** in the notes at the beginning of the chapter of which they apply to. The rape and underage is a brief mention in a specific chapter down the line. It will go into a little more detail eventually, but that chapter hasn't been released yet.

She walked over to the waterfall and wet her hair. The place she was in was a quiet clearing with a waterfall that poured into a pond. This was a place she loved for the solace it brought her and for the 15 years she had been visiting, she had never encountered another person. She stumbled upon after having run away after learning about how she had been chosen to be recruited into a special program. The one that would change her life. 

She felt the water pouring over her head, down her hair, hitting her… admittedly larger behind and going down her muscular legs. She was facing away from the small pond the waterfall poured into. Her dog Kiki was standing at the edge of the pond nearest to the waterfall.

“All right Kiki, I know you don’t want your bath, but I need to cut your fur.” She said as she grabbed her dog and her scissors. She sat down cross-legged in the water on the rocks behind the waterfall. Concentrating hard on making sure to cut the dogs fur evenly. But she felt it: those watching eyes. It was strange, she had never encountered anyone here before; she almost didn’t notice the man standing there.

“You like what you see?” She said to the man as she was hunched over naked, still cutting her dogs fur keeping focused on what was before her.

She clearly startled him, as he jumped back, but recovered quickly. “I… Uh… sorry, I’m just going to come back later” the silver haired man said with his hand brushing the back of his neck. 

“You don’t need to leave, it’s fine. Go on, use the pond as you need.” She motioned for him to use it, still without meeting his gaze.

The man undressed and got into the pond somewhat awkwardly. While still looking down at her dog, she kept an eye on him in her periphery. The shinobi outfit he wore was pretty typical, but he added a mask that covered his mouth and nose. There was a silence with tension forming between them, but soon the man just took a deep breath, floated on his back, and let out a deep sigh and with it the tension he felt released.

“So, how’d you find my secret spot?” She asked.

“ _ Your  _ spot? I just wandered around until I found it last week.” He said, still looking at the sky.

She finally turned over to get a better look at him. He was taller, muscular but lanky. The man had silver hair, in the parts that weren’t wet it looked to be somewhat bushy. There was a look in his eye… one that was somewhat… dead? No… She couldn’t be certain. “I’ve been visiting this place for around 15 years. I’ve never seen anyone else here before. I’m surprised you found it.”

The man looked over to meet her gaze. “Well I’m sorry, but this is too good of a place to have it just be yours anymore, but I’ll let you share it with me.” He smiled to the point his eyes closed. But she saw before they had, she saw he had one eye be with a sharingan. So, this was the man she had heard about. The one she was going to try to learn more about while she had a few days off. She didn’t expect him to be quite so… Good looking.

She chuckled at the remark “You’ll  _ let  _ me?” She was Anbu, the ninja that doesn’t exist. But of course, as the name suggests he wouldn’t have known that. Though she noticed his Anbu tattoo as well, so she knew he could put up quite a fight.

“Aw come on, not wanting to share?” The man said teasing.

She had lived a lonely solitaire life, so she wasn’t used to sharing by any means. “Alright I’ll share…  _ With you _ .” She blushed ever so slightly after uttering the last two words.

Silence settled between them.

“So I see you’re Anbu, why haven’t I seen you around before?” The man spoke, breaking the tension while still floating around the pond.

“Because you’re not supposed to.” She answered rather quickly and coldly, to which she regretted. She’s so used to having to hide her identity those words uttered out like a reflex. He clearly tensed up a bit at the harshness of her tone and was no longer floating, but instead now submerged up to his nose, hiding his mouth beneath the water. “Sorry.” She said “I’m not used to people asking me about who I am. I report directly to the Hokage and don’t usually stick around for too long. Nobody really knows I’m Anbu and nobody really knows who I am.”

The man rose just enough out of the water to speak “So maybe I know one of your team members” he stated, visibly more relaxed than a second ago.

“I don’t have any, I fly solo” she said. This clearly intrigued him as it was customary to have squads of 3-4 shinobi. She decided to elaborate a little more “You could say I’m an _elite_ _top secret_ sorta thing. Special case”

“Still.” The man said, “We’re about the same age, shouldn’t we have studied together?”

“I was recruited into the program when I was 7, I didn’t go to your average shinobi school.” She realized she had been telling him way too much. She decided, however, to let it go, seeing as how if needed, she could always erase his memories later. She started to observe him as he rescinded some back into the water covering his mouth, clearly deep in thought trying to figure out who she was. It was almost adorable how he was thinking way too hard about something he wasn’t going to get the answers to. 

She had been recruited at a young age on purpose. The idea was the earlier they started her training, the easier it will be to erase all trace and memory of her to create the ninja that does not exist. Deciding to put him out of his misery, she began to fully explain.

“Have you heard of the legend of the ninja that does not exist?” He nodded. Of course, as it was the type of tale that has existed since long before, the kind you tell as a bedtime story at night to help children fall asleep. “Lord Sarutobi decided to take the legend and try to make it a reality. My mother was a bit of a whore and thus shunned from the Yamanaka clan, I have no father and she died giving birth to me. I was mostly cared for by my uncle Inoichi and his family. When I was seven, I was recruited and trained specifically for this… experimental training program. From there on I wasn’t allowed to interact with anyone, with the exception of my Anbu trainers, until my training was done.”

“I went off on my first mission at 13. When I reported back to the Hokage, he told me that he was proud, but that he needed to tell everyone the mission was a failure. He told everyone I was KIA, and he took care of my body himself to ensure that I remain secret. Secret even from the very Anbu that had trained me before.” She knew it would be a lot to take in for anyone. This is the first time she had told anyone all of this, she knew she could have done it sooner and erased their memories, but she always thought that felt wrong, so she tried to avoid it.

The man was clearly taking it all in as he was now deep in thought. She had been looking down at her dog cutting its fur as she told her story, deep in thought herself.

Determined to understand her motives, the silver haired man asked one final question. “Why are you telling me all of this?” He seemed visibly distraught as he now realized these are all things he  **clearly** shouldn’t know.

Her eyes slowly made their way to finally meet with his, the two locked in an intense gaze. “I’m not sure…” She let the silence fall between them, eyes unwavering. “You’re… easy to talk to…” There was still clear concern in the man’s eyes as to what would happen, but the tension within him lessened.

“So... what about you? I see you’re Anbu as well.” she mentioned after having seen his tattoo. 

“Yeah, I was…” The man said awkwardly. She noticed it seemed unreal to him, it must have just recently happened. It was clear by his tone of voice that he didn’t want to talk about it, so she decided it was best to leave it alone. He looked lost in his thoughts, but the kind she knew all too well… Plagued by past memories.

“So being from the Yamanaka clan, I could hear your thoughts when you approached.” She stated, mostly with the intention of stopping him from what looked like to be a spiral. He was taken aback, clearly flustered.

“I… Uh…” The man stuttered, struggling to form a single word.

She couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s ok, you don’t go looking the way I do without hearing some thoughts like that. Besides…”

The man seemed to relax a little bit. Growing smug, he asked “Besides what?”

“Let’s just say… I enjoyed them…” She replied. A smirk grew on his face as he went into thought again.

The man soon grew worried and made a face “Wait… You’re not reading my mind now, are you?”

She couldn’t help but chuckle at him.“No, I like to try to give people their privacy. I mostly keep myself open to reading minds when I’m alone, to detect anyone nearby that might sneak up on me.” Upon hearing the answer, the man breathed a sigh of relief.

She was done cutting Kiki’s fur and decided to dry her off with a towel she had hidden in a nearby bush. It wasn’t long before she walked back over and sat down on the rocks behind the waterfall with the shampoo to wash her hair. The man dove under water and swam closer to her for the first time since arriving, resurfacing once he reached the rocks. After placing both arms on the boulder he rested his chin on them to look up at her. 

“So, how long are you gonna be here for?” The man asked.

“Normally I don’t stay longer than a day, but I’m sure you’ll see more of me.” She purred to him.

“Well listen… I uh… was wondering, if… While you were here… Maybe we could…” The man couldn’t help but stutter while his eyes continued to glaze over every inch of her body, blushing in the process. She wasn’t exceedingly beautiful, but she certainly had the curves he desired. Not quite plump, but not quite fit or thin either. Her contours suited her and complimented her muscular legs nicely. She was pale, with hair that danced between the boundaries of blonde and honey brown which seemed to contrast those dark brown eyes. Her lips were on the fuller side, framed by her wide jawline. She walked past him and into the water swimming to the waterfall to rinse her hair.

“I’ll go out with you, that is if you can actually manage to ask me.” She smiled and blushed as she never had done this before. Certainly she had gone out on dates to seduce men as part of her mission, but it was never as herself. It was always as a made-up person. It felt strange to her, but in a good way. This was something new, something exciting.

The man, confident that the answer would be yes, was able to ask: “Will you go out with me?” 

When she nodded in response, he smiled until his eyes closed, a slight blush gracing his features. She couldn’t help but smile as well as she finished rinsing her hair. As she got up to grab a towel, the man curiously cocked his head to the side.

“Are you leaving?” he asked.

“Yes” she replied as she dried off her hair.

Following her cue, the man got out of the pond. “When should we go out?” he questioned as he dried himself off.

“How about we meet here tomorrow at this same time? This way I can be myself.” She suggested as she made her way over to him.

“That sounds nice.” The man smiled at her.  _ It was a curious smile _ she thought. He never needed to show teeth to exude such a sense of deep happiness. It was the kind of smile that was infectious. The smile made her feel comforted despite having been so vulnerable with him. 

“I just realized I forgot to ask your name.” She said to the man.

“Kakashi. Kakashi Hatake.” He replied to her.

Standing directly before him, she stood on her tippy toes and gave him a peck on the cheek, her large breasts grazing against his bare chest. She then started to walk away turning back to wink at him after she had noticed him becoming…  _ somewhat aroused _ “I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.”

Kakashi, somewhat dumbfounded and embarrassed, could only muster a simple “Bye”, his hand resting on the cheek she had kissed as if he could capture the warmth of her lips that still lingered on his skin.

Upon reaching the small area where she had left her belongings, she put on a pair of underwear that were camouflaged to match tree bark, along with a matching form fitting skin tight shirt attached to a mask, similar to the one Kakashi was wearing earlier. This one, however, had a hood attached to hide her hair. Although she was Anbu, she took it upon herself to modify her outfit in order to prevent any noise from the clothes moving or catching on something. In her line of work, stealth was the utmost priority. She did, however, wear a traditional Anbu mask, one of an owl. Donning her mask, she waved goodbye to Kakashi as she jumped into the forest, disappearing into a sea of trees without ever making a sound.


	2. Akina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:   
> Sure, she would do it if needed, but it was something she tried to avoid doing if possible. Most of her missions were recon: spy on a subject, gather intel; nothing else. The occasional assassination mission was inevitable, but those were usually given to her on instances where there was little known on the person to begin with; seeing as how they would have to depend on her ability to gather intel to find them in the first place.. She liked to consider herself as a mostly neutral entity doing neither evil, nor good. Just… existing.

Given nobody knows her relationship to Konoha, she’s able to wander around freely as long as she’s wearing normal clothes and covers her tattoos. She has her Anbu tattoo, a summoning seal tattoo for her dog Kiki, and a teleportation seal tattoo to summon her notebooks or needles she needs. The seal tattoos were on her left and right upper thigh respectively, so they were pretty easy to conceal. But she needed to go out to get something to wear for her date. To go out searching, she put on a simple black sweater that was quite oversized on her,some thicker leggings, and some ballet slippers. She doesn’t usually like to draw attention to herself unless she needs to. 

As she made her way through town, it didn’t take long before finding a shop that looked promising. While skimming through the racks, her eyes landed on a long, form fitting, red dress with spaghetti straps and a slit that reached the upper thigh. Given her need to keep her identity hidden, she usually avoided anything sleeveless in order to avoid revealing the Anbu tattoo on her upper arm. However, because Kakashi already knew this fact,this date would be one of the few times she could get away with showing more skin. She also wanted to make sure to wear something nice for him, and she knew she would look good in this dress. A snicker escaped her lips as she couldn’t help but imagine his flustered expression when seeing her in it. 

Sure, she might’ve been a loner, but by no means a prude. Sex was one of the few pleasures she could allow herself, and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Dress in hand, she made her way to the fitting room to make the final decision.Just as she thought, it was a perfect fit. Not only did it frame her form perfectly, but the ankle length gave it a more sultry look. Feeling satisfied with her choice, she changed back into her attire, made her purchase, and made her way back out to the street. She wandered around and did some window shopping. until suddenly something stopped her dead in her tracks. A distinctive aroma tickled her nose, demanding all of her attention. That smell… It could only be…. Taiyaki!

“One chocolate taiyaki please! Thank you!” Dessert in hand and feeling satisfied with her outing, she made her way back to her residence. It was no longer time for diversions, there was research to be done.

Her mission assignments lead her to travel all over the shinobi nation. As a result, she was always taking notes, not just pertaining to details on the mission, but also with respect to the various jutsus from the regions and villages she would find herself in. On occasion she would practice them to see if she could perform them herself, but it wasn’t always successful. Despite her desire for knowledge on the different ninja techniques, it came from a place of learning. The only life she would ever endanger would be her own; putting others at risk was absolutely out of the question. When it came to the many tasks that were expected of her as a member of the Anbu, killing was something that never really sat right with her. Sure, she would do it if needed, but it was something she tried to avoid doing if possible. Most of her missions were recon: spy on a subject, gather intel; nothing else. The occasional assassination mission was inevitable, but those were usually given to her on instances where there was little known on the person to begin with; seeing as how they would have to depend on her ability to gather intel to find them in the first place.. She liked to consider herself as a mostly neutral entity doing neither evil, nor good. Just… existing.

Oftentimes she felt that she was disconnected from herself, a consequence of the many identities she’s had to assume. She contemplated this while looking at the bag full of hitai-ate from various different villages. Despite being a ninja of The Hidden Leaf, she would occasionally use others as part of her various disguises. She would occasionally wear hers on her arm, which also helped cover up her Anbu tattoo. 

She decided to take a trip to the library and see what they had on the sharingan: a visual jutsu that she once stumbled upon in her studies and became very interested in. Without missing a beat, she was on her feet and out the door. The town was still bustling, it being only midafternoon. She made sure to walk outside of the main road, away from all the gennin that always seemed to be running around without care. As she turned into a corner, the sounds of a commotion came into earshot. She started to close in on the source of the whispers and conversations, which seemed to be a ramen shop. There, she found the people murmuring loudly over the Hokage having a bowl of ramen. It seemed that the villagers were not used to him being out and about, she thought, but the man has to eat! 

The Hokage caught sight of her and shouted “Ah! Akina! Come sit with me for a moment, will you?” This name didn’t take her by surprise, seeing as how it was the alias assigned to her this time around. From the moment she set foot into the ramen shop, she located the exits and counted the number of possible threats. She studied everyone she could see or hear. She even caught sight of a certain silver haired someone in a booth toward the back exit., but right now she was Akina, and Akina didn’t know that person. Everything seemed normal, so she sat next to the Hokage. “I will be available to meet with you in order to discuss Kikyo Castle later this evening. I expect to see you in my office as usual.” he said before taking his next bite of ramen.

“I can’t tonight.” The Hokage was clearly shocked, it was unusual for her to outright refuse important discussions. “I’m going to do some preliminary research at the library, followed by a previous arrangement.” she added while looking away from him, analyzing her surroundings while maintaining him in her periphery. She could see that he was still astonished, as he knew that any meeting outside of the one he planned wasn’t assigned to her by him.

He took a sip of his ramen and contemplated for a moment. He knew that she never asked for much and given all the hard work she always did, who was he to refuse? “Alright, tomorrow morning then.”

“Perfect,” she said while getting up. “I will see you tomorrow then.”

Giving the area one final visual sweep, she left the ramen shop and made her way to the library that was just around the block.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again so I created this character before I knew who Sai was. I'm watching naruto for the first time now, 15 years later. Danzo is an ass. Also smut will appear in next chapter.


	3. First First date.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi and OFC shameless smut with light kink. They're both enjoying a nice first date. He's just out of ANBU and she's still in it.   
> Excerpt:   
> They both enjoyed some small talk as they ate: about the better missions they had been on. They seemed to go on and on talking about all of the good parts: the sights they’ve seen, the food they tasted, the nicer people they’ve met. Kakashi stopped suddenly, seeming almost mortified. “I just realized… I don’t know your name.” he uttered.
> 
> While she was always cautious to never give it out, Kakashi knew far too much for it to matter at this point. “I usually omit my name on purpose, but... my name is Kessho.”
> 
> “Is that your real name, or an alias?” he asked, which was a fair question.
> 
> She chuckled. “Yes, it’s my real name.”
> 
> He smiled at the thought of her trusting him enough to know. It suddenly felt surreal for her; surreal for her to have someone other than the Hokage to know this much about her. Instead of feeling strained whenever she said more than she should, she felt comforted. At the same time, it dawned upon her how much he knew about her, yet how little she knew about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long to release. My friend needs a break from editing as COVID life slowly gets to us all. Half of it is edited with her, half is me... My grammar is not great, so I'm sorry. I'll update the chapter if she comes back to editing. I'll be editing my chapters until further notice so I apologize if it's not up to par. I just really suck at proofreading.

Several books and page upon pages of notes littered her desk. There wasn’t much known about the Uchiha clan’s Sharingan, but she made sure to pull out every reference available to her; no matter how big or small it was. Stretching her body from what could have been hours of the same posture, she looked up from her studies and peered at the clock on the wall. Her eyes darted towards the window beside her, totally at disbelief at how late it had gotten. It was almost mockingly dark when she looked out the window. “SHIT.” was all she muttered. Notes in hand, the entire town became a blur as she ran back to her room at the inn. She wasted no time doing her makeup with practiced ease. Dress in her hand, she jumped out the window and rushed through the trees to their secret spot.

Shortly before arriving she stopped to change, placing her clothes in a nearby bush so she could come back to get them later. She dropped down from the tree immediately regretting the loud thump that followed. She inhaled sharply, almost cursing under her breath before regaining her composure. It was already instinctive for her to be completely silent, but she reassured herself that it didn’t matter this time. This wasn’t a mission, this was a date: one of the few times she could afford to let loose… is what she tried to tell herself, but even then there was still a lingering sense of frustration. It was always difficult for her to allow herself to let go of things. Despite being barefoot, the combination of her dress with a lucious pair of bold red lips filled her with confidence as she walked through the woods and into the clearing where a familiar figure came into view.

“Wow… You look…” Kakashi trailed off as he looked her up and down. He was wearing a white button up shirt that was buttoned up incorrectly with three buttons undone at the top, a black tie, and matching black slacks. No mask this time, which she attributed to her having already seen his face. This time, his silver hair was styled so that it covered his left eye. Her research earlier today mentioned that underneath his bangs, Hatake Kakashi hid an eye with the power of sharingan. It was definitely a topic that she would want to talk to him about, but she knew if she brought it up this early on, he would assume that was the only reason she was interested in him. She decided not to bring it up tonight. 

“I gotta say, you look pretty handsome with clothes on.” She winked at him. Looking down; she saw that he had laid out a blanket with a bento box dinner for two. It was endearing, he even lit a candle out and placed a single rose. “Wow… I wasn’t sure what you were going to come up with, but I’m pleasantly surprised.”

“I know I come off as a little pervy, but I don’t have to be when I try.” He chuckled.

She sat down on the blanket, her eyes following him as he sat across from her. “Pervy? You? I hadn’t noticed.” she chuckled. “Although I guess by those standards, I would be considered pervy myself.”

“Oh…?” This piqued his interest. “What makes you say that?”

“While I do tend to be a loner, I get around… You could say I’ve learned a lot, and that I like to… experiment.” She spoke with a demure tone which enthralled Kakashi with every word.

“Well, if tonight goes well maybe we can experiment together sometime.” he said with a smirk.

“Sounds good to me.” She winked as she opened her bento and grabbed one half of a hard boiled egg.

They both enjoyed some small talk as they ate: about the better missions they had been on. They seemed to go on and on talking about all of the good parts: the sights they’ve seen, the food they tasted, the nicer people they’ve met. Kakashi stopped suddenly, seeming almost mortified. “I just realized… I don’t know your name.” he uttered.

While she was always cautious to never give it out, Kakashi knew far too much for it to matter at this point. “I usually omit my name on purpose, but... my name is Kessho.”

“Is that your real name, or an alias?” he asked, which was a fair question.

She chuckled. “Yes, it’s my real name.”

He smiled at the thought of her trusting him enough to know. It suddenly felt surreal for her; surreal for her to have someone other than the Hokage to know this much about her. Instead of feeling strained whenever she said more than she should, she felt comforted. At the same time, it dawned upon her how much he knew about her, yet how little she knew about him.

“So, you know all this personal stuff about me… You gotta give me something about you.” She said teasingly. However, instead of the playful Kakashi from earlier, he now grew visibly uncomfortable. He clearly was struggling with something, but she felt too vulnerable to let it go. She needed to know that he trusted her back. So what if this was some tactic she was used to resorting to whenever she would tell her half truths to get information out of someone… it was all the same: trust in exchange of trust. Instead of changing the subject and moving on, she patiently waited for a reply. After a long pause, he finally breaks the silence.

“Well… My mom died when I was really young… My dad raised me mostly after that, but I wasn’t that much older when he passed away as well.” She could see in his eyes that he was starting to spiral down in his own thoughts as he quickly took a shot of sake, almost as if he were attempting to ward them away.

Having taken notice of how distraught he seemed, she stepped in with an attempt to change the tone.“See that wasn’t so hard.” she said as she awkwardly punched his arm, taking a shot of sake herself. Out of the corner of her eye she could see him staring at the moon, he seemed to be going to a dark place. “Hey” She put her hand on his, the sudden warmth bringing his focus on her. “It’s ok, you’re not alone in this.”

Kakashi seemed to be back in the present, gracing her with a small, reassured smile.

“Hold on, I’ve got to fix this.” She leans into him to address the unevenly buttoned shirt, starting by unbuttoning it entirely.

“So, what is it that needs fixing? Me having too many clothes on?” He says, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

She chuckled at his remark and countered “I mean that wasn’t the problem I was trying to fix, but it certainly seems to be a problem.”

Kakashi wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her in for a deep kiss that was leaving her breathless. She was eager to pull him in, tangling her fingers in his soft hair to bring him even closer to her. Eagerly, she explored the taste of him, savoring every second that his tongue brushed against hers. Even when their lips finally parted, they kept finding each other again with softer kisses that grazed ever so slightly. The kiss had turned to mere touches of the lips, but she wanted more. He broke the kiss, before their eyes locked onto each other with a deep yearning. Kakashi blew out the candle and swept everything else aside. Slipping one arm around her waist, the other moved her arms out from under her, pinning them both above her so that she was laying on the ground with him towering over her. She was barely able to let out a gasp at how swiftly it all happened. She looked up to see both of his eyes as his sharingan eye was now peeking out. His eyes never left hers, glimmering with pure lust as he moved to straddle her. Normally she likes to have a fight for dominance in bed, but here she just let him have what he so swiftly took.

He sought her lips once again, this time more softly before leaving a trail of kisses towards her jawline, down her neck, and finally her collarbone, earning a soft moan from her. He then moved up to whisper in her ear: “How do I take the dress off?”

“There’s a zipper.” She arched her back enough to allow his free hand to undo her dress. He slowly removed it while ensuring to never free her wrists entirely. He then removed his tie, binding her wrists together before sitting up to marvel at her. Underneath that red dress was a set of matching lingerie. He traces a finger from her lips, to her neck, over her chest, down her stomach, and all the way down to the laced hem of her panties.

He leaned in and whispered. “All matching for me.” he chuckled smugly, sending a thrill down her spine as she nodded. He kissed her passionately, licking her bottom lip for entrance she immediately granted. Their tongues danced together in a feverish desperation. She arched her back in pleasure to which Kakashi took advantage of to undo her bra. He removed it without breaking the kiss, her being too lost in ecstasy to notice. He moved his hand that wasn’t still gripping her wrists to her breast. He softly brushed it, cupped it, and then used his thumb to flick the nipple ensuring it perked up. Once it did, he pinched and pulled it slightly. This earned him a delightful moan as she broke this kiss, tilting her head back and lifting her chest forward closer to him. “Like a little pain with your pleasure?”  He asked, his voice a low hum.

She finally opened her eyes and met his gaze. “Yessss” She hissed at him. She bit her bottom lip and she could feel how that bite aroused him as he grew.

“Naughty girl” he said as he moved down. Slowly, he moved his hand to her panties, “You soaking already? Someone’s a little excited... Keep your arms above your head. If you don’t, I’ll have to punish you.” Normally she would be eagerly tempted to disobey, but this time… with him, she dared not. He removed her underwear and blew on her slit which sent tingles down her body. Then, he sent his warm tongue to contrast and used it to flick her clit. She moaned in sweet ecstasy which turned him on more. He started to suck on her clit and used one arm to wrap around her thigh and secure her close while the other he used to trail up her stomach to her breast, pinching and pulling at her nipple as she moaned again. 

“Kakashi…” She breathed and finally looked down to him while making sure to keep her arms above her head. He retreated the hand that was on her breast much to her disappointment that was visible on her face.

“Keep moaning my name” he growled deeply as he plunged two of his fingers into her opening, making sure to curl them up perfectly to hit that sweet spot.

She dropped down her head and closed her eyes “Kakashi…” She moaned while arching her back. He continued to suck and use his tongue to flick her clit while thrusting his fingers and curling them up at a faster pace each time. The heat and tension quickly built within her and she soon found herself begging for release. “May I cum?” She asked desperately

He looked up at her and she met his gaze “May I cum what?”

“May I cum please Kakashi?” She said in between moans feeling him still thrusting his fingers into her.

He pondered the thought for a moment while he retreated back to licking her clit. She wasn’t sure she would be able to hold out much longer and she began to squirm at his touch. “Yes” He finally said and not a second too soon. He slowly made his way up to her while holding out his two fingers covered in her cum. “Open” he commanded. She opened her mouth and tasted herself licking his fingers clean, sucking on his fingers and twirling her tongue around each one to show what she could do. She then wrapped her legs around him pushing him up against her. “Eager, now are we?” he asked amused at the thought.

“Maybe a little” She confessed. He stood up and removed his pants and boxers. Grabbing her arms that were still tied he began helping her up and laid down where she had been.

“Ride me then” He commanded sternly. She started to try to free herself from his tie that was around her wrists but “No.” He growled quickly, and she stopped. She hovered over him while he positioned his thick cock to enter her. Once she felt his girth stretch her as she slid down and in, she hunched over him resting her wrists next to his head.

He placed his hands at her calves, letting her take free range of motion. Well… As much as she could with her hands tied. She proceeded to lift her hips up, then down, then thrusting forward at the end. Every thrust and Kakashi let out a deep growl in pleasure. With each move she made she tried to go faster as she grew more and more desperate spreading her lower lips just enough to feel her clit rub against his skin.

“Stop.” He commanded sternly. She pushed her wrists and straightened herself up to look at him.

“Is this not good?” She asked furrowing her brow. She knew normally guys love the way she rides so she grew concerned and confused, slightly hurt, and showing an unusual amount of vulnerability.

He placed a hand on her face and said “It was excellent my dearest.” He told her sweetly. “But this isn’t how I want to finish you. Now get up.” His voice turned dark and lustful. She got up and quickly so did he. Then he positioned her a few steps forward and then commanded her: “kneel” and obediently, she kneeled facing away from him. He kneeled behind her and placed his cheek against hers with one arm wrapping around her held up to her neck and the other resting at her hip. “Are you enjoying yourself?” He asked seductively as she could feel his erection rubbing on the surface of her behind.

“Yes Kakashi” She cooed, waiting for further instruction.

He hummed in pleasure. “Good, now bend over.” She heeded to his command and rested her still tied wrists on the blanket. She felt him line up to her opening and moaned when he thrust deep into her. He gathered all of her hair and pulled her up to him. “Is this what you want?” he asked.

“Yes Kakashi.”

“Louder.” He growled into her ear sending goosebumps everywhere.

“Yes Kakashi!” She yelled breathily leaning against him with her back arched peeking up at him while biting her lower lip with a smile.

“Good, now bend over again.” He said while still holding her hair. She rested her wrists on the blanket once again and waited for him to proceed. He rubbed her right butt cheek and then slapped it. “Mmmmm” He hummed as he bent over to her. “I love your curves” He whispered in her ear. He rose up and rubbed her right butt cheek again and slapped it to which she moaned and bit the corner of her bottom lip. He lined himself up again, grabbed her hip with his free hand, and thrusted deep into her.

“Oh Kakashi.” she moaned as she felt his length was perfectly hitting her spot.

He kept a slow pace at first, but quickly picked up occasionally letting out a deep growl that she was growing to love to hear. When he slowed, he bent over to growl deeply in her ear and it sent a shiver down her spine before kissing her shoulder while caressing her back with the hand that had been on her hip. Disappointed with the lack of movement, she then began to thrust her hips back into him. Once he received the message, they both quickly picked up the pace.

“Kakashi may I cum please?” She found herself asking soon between moans.

He bent over and whispered in her ear, “We’re going to cum together ok?” She nodded obediently. They quickly thrusted against each other rhythmically until they came in unison.

“Kakashi!” She moaned out.

They gave a few final thrusts and collapsed onto the blanket before them. She turned to Kakashi and gazed at him. He pulled her in to kiss her softly before just admiring her eyes some more.

Once their breath evened out, he placed a hand on her cheek and said, “You’re incredible, you know that?” She was certain he could feel her cheek turn hot and red beneath him. Starting to use her teeth to undo the tie that was still around her wrists, he saw and quickly offered, “Let me help.” Just as quickly, she pulled away from him and finished doing it herself in her stubbornness which led him to letting out a few chuckles.

Once her hands were free she placed one on his cheek and softly kissed him. “Want to go for a dip?”

“That sounds really refreshing actually.” He said.

They both got up, held hands, walked over to the pond, and got in. The refreshingly cool water caused her hair to stand up. After turning to him, she noticed Kakashi was tall enough to be able to squat and still have his head above water, so she wrapped her legs around him. They both floated there and just held each other under the moonlight. They talked about simple things, like favorite colors, books, silly things their dogs did only occasionally stopping to look at each other and kiss softly.

After a while they both got out. Realizing neither had a towel, they both started to shake their limbs like dogs without thinking. When they both noticed they were doing the same thing, they both let out a heartfelt laugh. Not wanting the night to end they made their way back to the blanket. She laid down on it while Kakashi pulled out an extra blanket he brought thinking they might get cold as the night went on. They both laid facing each other and continued to talk until they fell asleep.


	4. Leaving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, here's shorter excerpt:   
> “I need you to know something” She got up and held a hand to his cheek to hold his gaze. He looked back at her confused and she saw him starting to worry himself. “This is our spot now. Last night was amazing and magical and I want more.” He seemed a bit relieved at those words, but he could also taste the but. “I want you to know that if I have to leave without getting the chance to say goodbye, I will leave you messages here. You’ll know where to look… but hopefully that won’t happen.”
> 
> He looked worried at the thought of her leaving like that, but he lived the life of an Anbu, he knew how it worked. He kissed her forehead. “Ok.” He got up and started to get dressed while she helped to fold the blankets. Kakashi grabbed the blankets along with the basket containing the dishes and other things used from last night and kissed her one last time, before leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my proofreading that probably still has lots of grammar errors... I'm sorry, I'm really bad at this. I decided to do two in one day because I felt bad for not having updated in a while. There's no shortage of content, the rate limiting factor here is the proof-reading. I hope that it's still good enough for you all to enjoy anyways.

She woke up from a sleep deeper than she had slept in years. There was a comfort felt, safety, and most of all… she felt cared for. Whenever she slept, she felt the need to be on edge to always be ready to fight if needed. That’s something that sleeping in trees all the time will do to you. As a result, these were all things she had never felt before. She never really got the chance to. Anytime she did it wasn’t really  _ her _ they cared for, rather the alias she used or the person she pretended to be, either for the sake of a mission or to keep her identity hidden. 

After feeling his strong arm around her, she felt the need to nuzzle back into him while she contemplated her feelings. Feelings… she never really had to contemplate them before. Before everything was numb, neutral. She wasn’t allowed to feel because they would just get in the way of completing the mission at hand. She thought about how wonderful last night was and she felt… Butterflies? Butterflies were something she had never felt before, so she wasn’t even sure if that’s what she was feeling.

Kakashi woke up, so she turned to him. “Morning” She said to him and kissed his lips.

Kakashi bolted up. “I’m sorry but I was supposed to have a meeting with Lord Sarutobi this morning” He looks at her with his hand rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed at his sudden need to rush off.

“It’s ok” She said. “I should probably be headed back to Kiki anyways” she hesitated before getting up.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Kakashi asked her, seeing the worry in her eyes.

“I need you to know something” She got up and held a hand to his cheek to hold his gaze. He looked back at her confused and she saw him starting to worry himself. “This is  _ our  _ spot now. Last night was amazing and magical and I want more.” He seemed a bit relieved at those words, but he could also taste the but. “I want you to know that if I have to leave without getting the chance to say goodbye, I will leave you messages here. You’ll know where to look… but hopefully that won’t happen.”

He looked worried at the thought of her leaving like that, but he lived the life of an Anbu, he knew how it worked. He kissed her forehead. “Ok.” He got up and started to get dressed while she helped to fold the blankets. Kakashi grabbed the blankets along with the basket containing the dishes and other things used from last night and kissed her one last time, before leaving.

She grabbed her clothes and ran to where she hid her shinobi uniform and put that on instead. She then snuck back to her room at the inn. After checking that Kiki was still soundly asleep, she noticed her look up suddenly to the door, as if to say someone had been waiting. She listened… Yes… Someone was at the door. After changing and putting on normal attire: an oversized sweater, some leggings, and ballet slippers, she answered the door and it appeared to be an upper level shinobi sent by the Hokage.

“The Hokage wants to meet with you for some reason. The meeting is to be in a few minutes. Please follow me.” The man waiting for her said. She quickly took her notebooks with her research and placed them in a backpack along with the rest of her things. The newfound shinobi seemed bored, but nevertheless she closed the door behind her and followed the man to the Hokage’s office. Once finally there, the shinobi just barged in and there stood Kakashi wearing his shinobi uniform with a mask covering his face. Luckily they both were highly trained and knew better than to let on that they knew each other.

She turned to the Hokage and asked “You wanted to meet with me?” She looked at the Hokage who was looking suspiciously back and forth between Kakashi and her. Nothing they had done then had given the fact that they knew each other away. If he knew, someone had been watching her, and she  _ hated _ when the Hokage would do that to her. 

“Yes” The Hokage said. “This Jonin over here is Kakashi. Have you two met?”

Kakashi walked over to her in his relaxed normal nonchalant self “No I don’t believe we have”

“Hi, I’m Akina. I’m travelling here to study the Kikyo castle and hoping the Hokage himself can give me some more in-depth history” she bowed her head at Kakashi before turning to the third. “Are you ready Lord Sarutobi?”

“Yes, I believe so, will you excuse us please Kakashi?” The Hokage asked.

“Of course.” And with that Kakashi disappeared.

She sat down in the chair in front of the Hokage crossing her legs and faced him. She was suspicious of him. She thought he might somehow know, or at the very least suspect… But she knew staring him down would just reassure any suspicions he might have. Instead she opted to ignore it and ask: “What do you need Lord Third?”

“I need you to go do some recon on some rogue ninja from the village hidden in the grass. You need to leave tonight.” He said sternly.

“I thought I was going to get another day or two off before another mission” She stated calmly.

“I’m afraid this can’t wait.” He said promptly.

At this point she felt it appropriate to stare him down. He placed two interlocked hands across his mouth with his elbows on his desk as he stared back. A whole minute passed, neither of them blinking, neither of them budging. Based on what she knew there hadn’t previously been a threat to worry about from the village hidden in the grass. But… Given the tensions that never quite let up after the third shinobi world war… Maybe some rogue ninjas grew fed up with the results. “Well, can’t be helped I suppose” She shrugged. “Hand me the intel.” She held out her hand awaiting a folder.

“There isn’t any. All we know is they exist and they’re on the outskirts somewhere of the village hidden in the grass” He said now leaning back in his chair. “You see now why it needs to be you.”

She nodded. She didn’t always get folders, and she could manage fine without them… But no folder usually meant a longer mission. “I’ll leave tonight after the sun sets.”

“Very well” He said calmly. “You are dismissed”

She left the Hokage's office and started walking down the hall toward the stairs, occasionally passing other shinobi along the way. She recognized a few of them, but she never bothered to learn names as she never stayed long enough to take notice. She walked down the stairs to the first floor and continued down another hall. Without breaking pace, she pulled out a key and opened a door on the right of the hall and quickly closed it and locked it behind her. Her office. It was labeled as a supply closet, but nobody had a key except for her. Not even the Hokage had a key. Originally this was the room she stayed in as a child when undergoing training. It was a larger room, way too large to be a supply closet, but no one ever really gives a supply closet much thought. There was a doggie door on the far wall, as this is where Kiki would come to sleep and live when her summoning wasn’t needed, or she was off on a more dangerous quieter part of a mission.

There was a pile of stuff in the middle of the room, partly from when she used her teleportation tattoo to return the items she would summon. She took off her backpack and started to put everything back in its place. The notebooks back on their respective shelves, the clothing back in the closet, and the weapons hanging back in their respective place. She filled the extra-large dog feeder to the brim with food and the same with the water. Kiki didn’t eat much so this food would usually last a long while, but she never wanted Kiki to go hungry. Peering down at her little silver dog with a leaf village tag on her collar she smiled having loved that dog that grew with her. After unpacking her backpack she returned the things to their respectful place.

She started to leave but as she was closing the door, she saw her silver haired man. Making the ever so slightest head nod, she signaled for him to come into the room she was about to return to. When she went in, he appeared before her. She wrapped around her hand around the back of his neck and with her free hand pulled down his mask. Softly, she kissed his bottom lip before looking up at him. Feeling the sorrow growing in her eyes, she could see he was slowly returning the sentiment. He understood without a word ever being uttered. Pulling her into a close embrace, they both stood there in the dark room for what seemed like a long time.

Although the time they spent together was short, it was intense as most things in the life of an Anbu agent are. There was a connection that grew between them in that short time. For her, this was the first genuine connection she felt with someone that didn’t have the title of Hokage. Though she could only speculate… She knew he felt something too. He was still raw and damaged just having left the Anbu. She began to wonder if the reason he allowed himself to go with this was because he knew it would be fleeting… But if there was anything she could do, she would make sure it was anything but fleeting. She stood on her tippy toes and whispered into his ear, “I’ll leave you letters at our spot.” He nodded without letting go just yet.

She didn’t feel ready to leave. Leave the only person who she’s ever had true feelings for, or any feelings for that matter. The only person who knew  _ her _ and cared for  _ her _ . She could tell he wasn’t quite ready for her to leave either. But such is the life of an Anbu. They broke their embrace and he pulled down his mask and kissed her bottom lip softly. “I’ll write to you too.” He spoke quietly. After placing one last kiss on her forehead, he lifted his mask to its usual spot, and vanished. She finally left the room and subtly locked it behind her. 

Everyone was too wrapped up in their own thoughts to notice her, just the way she liked it. Blending in with the crowded halls, she made her way back to the inn.

While at the inn, she sat up on the balcony outside sipping her tea watching as the sun set. She could hear the people below her from the bustling town. She contemplated her strategy for her mission up ahead. She would have to go into the town to stay and try to gather some intel about any recent defections there. From there once they had been identified she could go out with the silence that followed her whenever she wore her personalized Anbu uniform. The sun had officially set, and night began to fall. She had paid for the night but told the inn keeper she was leaving early in the morning, and to check her out now, but to not go into the room until the morning. This is how she would leave things often as she tried to enjoy some peace before going out on a long mission. She finished her tea and left her mug on the sill of the balcony. Wandering over to her dresser, she changed into her Anbu uniform. Stuffing the pouch containing her needles in the slit of her skin tight top placing it in between her breast and the skin-tight top while also adding a few needles hidden in her hair underneath the hood. Without making a sound, she set off into the night heading towards the village hidden in the grass.


	5. A talking dog?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter has been combined with the one that was going to be next one, so here's an excerpt:  
> The Hokage nodded at her assessment. “I agree and concur. There’s another assignment that I have for you. There’s a man in the village hidden in the clouds that running a sex trafficking ring. You are to infiltrate and observe all those involved. When the chance strikes, you are to assassinate the ring leader. We only have intelligence on the lead recruit, so you are not to reveal yourself or take action risking your identity until you have eyes on the ring leader. From there you must bring everyone you can down. They’ve begun to kidnap young leaf girls, so it’s become our problem now too” Lord Third handed her the file containing all of the intelligence on the man. Just by looking at him she knew that he wasn’t the top dog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for any grammar errors. Don't question the sudden influx of chapters, just be happy there was one.
> 
> ***** VERY IMPORTANT******  
> This chapter has a brief insinuation of rape. So TW.

It had been a month since she left Konoha to complete her recon mission. She had written to Kakashi and left the letters in the spot as she said, able to come by just to do that roughly once a week. Occasionally, she would write more than one letter, but would then save them to drop them off during her weekly visit. Kakashi had been reading her letters, as she had received some from him. She certainly missed him, and his touch, but the letters had done something for her she never had before. Before Kakashi she simply would go through the motions. Her life existed to serve the Hokage and keep going through the motions, complete missions, act as a shield and weapon for Konoha until she was old enough to retire or… She didn’t like to think about the or. There was no denying what it was, but she didn’t like to dwell on that possibility. The letters Kakashi wrote to her though… They made her feel alive, more than just a tool used to serve. They made her feel that there could actually be more to her life for once than the fate she had originally been given.

She could see herself nearing Konoha. Normally she’s supposed to head straight to the Hokage’s office after a mission, but she thought the Hokage wouldn’t know when she would be back, so she headed to Kakashi’s place first. The apartment was easy to find, just as he described in his letter. She found a window that was left unlocked, and quietly crept in but was met with dogs growling up at her. She took a defensive stance quickly without the intention to attack. She didn’t want to hurt the dogs, but she wasn’t going to get bit either.

Suddenly one dog that looked somewhat like a pug started… talking? “Wait.” He said as he sniffed.

She jumped back. _A talking dog?_ She thought to herself. She waited still in a defensive stance for his response.

“I recognize that scent.” He said. “The name’s Pakkun, and you’re the one writing the letters, right?”

“Yes” She answered while returning to a normal stance still hiding behind her mask. “Is Kakashi here?” She asked Pakkun.

Pakkun shook his head. “Sorry, he’s out on a mission and we aren’t sure when he will be back.”

Her heart sank. She was looking forward to finally being able to see him again, to finally being able to have another night like that magical one. She was looking forward to finally being held again. But it would have to wait. _The mission will have to come first_ she told herself.

She looked around for the dog feeder. His apartment was small, she had dropped in the bedroom. The bed was unmade, and there were a couple books splayed beside it. There was a tall bookcase that reached from the floor to the ceiling filled with books. There was a desk beside her with some half written reports on it. She walked out to the living room. She saw a nice couch with plenty of blankets on it and a cup of water on the coffee table. A smaller TV sat on a table across from the couch, and beside it were a line of dog feeders. All had appeared to be full when he left, but none were full now. She looked in the pantry in the kitchen, and there was the giant bag of dog food. She dragged the bag to the feeders, took off the tops and filled them all to the brim. She then went to fill the water in the kitchen.

Pakkun looked up at her, thankful.

“Tell him I was here. But nobody else knows about me, so keep it to yourself.” She told him sternly. Pakkun nodded and she left for Hokage’s office. It was night, so nobody was there, but this was close enough range to flicker back to her room. She grabbed the futon in the corner and called out to Kiki. After laying down, mask and all, she hadn’t realized how tired she actually was. She curled up in a ball and Kiki curled up against her back, both quickly falling asleep. 

When she got up, she peeked through the blinds that stayed permanently shut. She noticed the sun was just starting to come up. About 4 hours of sleep? She didn’t usually get much more than that at a time. She walked over to her dresser and took off her uniform and replaced it with a red hikizuri with a floral pattern. She pulled up the top half of her hair into a bun, placed her obi on tightly, and sat down to do some simple makeup. After deciding to draw a mole below her right eye, she was done setting up her disguise. Leaving the room and locking if behind her, she went up the stairs up to the Hokage’s office. Nobody was there yet so she simply let herself in, knelt, and waited for him to arrive.

About an hour or two later the Hokage showed up and dismissed the shinobi who was about to follow him in. Lord Sarutobi locked the door behind him. She stood up and sat in the chair in front of his desk, crossing her legs. She pulled out the report from behind her obi and handed it to him.

“There’s two rogue ninjas from the village hidden in the leaves, their names are Yamamoto Daisuke, and Aoki Michiya. They both were lower tier that seemed to just be discontent and want to go for a “get rich quick” type of thing. They seemed to be threatening and robbing some villagers away from the main town but seemed to also be headed to leave the village hidden in the grass. It seems like their plan is to roam aimlessly until they see it opportune to take advantage of someone rich enough to their liking.” She rattled off to the Hokage. It was unfortunate, but sometimes her suspected threats just weren’t threats… “I don’t foresee them being an issue unless they come near our village.”

The Hokage nodded at her assessment. “I agree and concur. There’s another assignment that I have for you. There’s a man in the village hidden in the clouds that running a sex trafficking ring. You are to infiltrate and observe all those involved. When the chance strikes, you are to assassinate the ring leader. We only have intelligence on the lead recruit, so you are not to reveal yourself or take action risking your identity until you have eyes on the ring leader. From there you must bring everyone you can down. They’ve begun to kidnap young leaf girls, so it’s become our problem now too” Lord Third handed her the file containing all of the intelligence on the man. Just by looking at him she knew that he wasn’t the top dog.

Looking back up at the Hokage, she informed him, “I will leave tonight. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go eat some sushi.” She turned and started to walk to the door after bowing.

“Kakashi isn’t here, he’s off on a mission” the Hokage mentioned.

She turned to him quickly and questioned, “Who?” She could tell that he was testing to see how she would react to try and confirm what he had been suspecting all along. Silence fell between them as Lord Third studied her confused gaze. Making sure to furrow her brows and tilt her head before steadying she finally broke the silence, “Oh, was he that man that was here last time?” She knew she had to play it off and continue to act confused. “Why are you mentioning this?” She stood questioning him.

He narrows his eyes at her, taking in everything and continuing to study her face. She just stood there with a dazed look. He gave in “Never mind, enjoy your sushi.”

“What?... o…. k…” She muttered under her breath as she left the room. _Well if he had any doubts they were gone now_ she thought to herself. Now she was contemplating about how she felt; she just had a ‘student became the master’ moment as she smugly walked to a ryotei.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Another month and a half had passed. She had left a letter for Kakashi saying that the nature of her mission might cause her to need to go dark. She stopped at their spot before heading in town. There was a letter waiting for her, she crouched for a moment and opened to read it while listening to the sound of the waterfall in front of her. She read:

> “ _My Dearest Kessho,_
> 
> _I completely understand your need to go dark. Please try your best to stay safe for me. I’m sorry I missed you, but the Hokage has had me pretty busy since you left. When I returned though he had no new assignments for me. I think you were right that he suspected us, though I’m not sure how. The missions were mostly escorts or other simple stuff. Nothing like what you’re going into. I know I said this already, but please stay safe._
> 
> _Come to my place as soon as you get back. I can’t wait to see you again._
> 
> _Oh yeah, and thanks for refilling the dog food!_
> 
> _Yours,_
> 
> _Kakashi_ ”

She held it close to her chest for a moment, closing her eyes and enjoying the calming sound of the waterfall. Hopefully this meant he would be home this time. Resting for a brief moment gathering her strength, going on the last bits of her chakra, she could tell that she was severely bruised and had a few open wounds. She winced at the pain as she got up, but she took one last look at the letter. That was enough. That was enough for her to get the will to make it to his place. She folded the letter and placed it through the slit in her shirt resting it against her breast. After walking over to the nearest tree, she jumped up and silently made her way to Kakashi’s. 

When she approached, she went to the same window as last time, and it was still unlocked. She started to wonder if this was done on purpose for her to enter and remain unseen. Opening the window, she perched for a moment. He had been sleeping but when he heard the window open he grabbed the Kunai under his pillow and jumped up to a defensive stance.

“Kakashi…” She said weakly as her body finally gave out and she fell forward.

Kakashi then realized it was her. He rushed over to her body on the floor dropping the kunai. He lifted her and gently placed her on the bed. “Do you need to go to the hospital?” He asked her, growing concerned.

She was mostly fine, she simply had depleted her chakra shortly after leaving their spot, making it to him through pure will power. “No” she was finally able to muster. “I need super glue”

He was confused but he grabbed a bowl of water, a cloth to clean with, and some rubbing alcohol in addition to the super glue she requested. He knelt beside her and started cleaning her wounds. She lowered her bottoms to expose a deep cut on the left side of her abdomen, one that would need stitches. “Kessho, you should really -”

Having moved to lay on her right side before taking the cloth, she began to wipe away the excess blood and poured rubbing alcohol over it while she winced at the pain. Then, she took the wound and pinched it together and pushed crazy glue into it before holding the wound shut.

“Wha…?” Kakashi was visibly confused but even though she was facing away from him she managed to hear it in his voice.

“It’ll work in placement of stitches for small wounds” she spoke softly, trying her best to reassure him.

He grabbed the cloth and continued to clean the rest of her wounds. “Are you ok?” sounding concerned, he moved to the other side of her to meet her gaze.

Meeting his gaze her stomach turned in knots. She suddenly felt grateful her mask was still on as she uttered the next words: “I did some things I rather would not have. I don’t want to talk about them.”

Being able to tell that Kakashi knew that feeling all too well, she heard him let out a simple, “Ok.” He continued on cleaning her wounds.

Letting go of the skin she had pinched shut, she moved to remove her mask. The silence between them calmed her. Closing her eyes, she listened to the noise of the water dripping back into the bowl after cleaning a wound.

“I want to make sure I get them all, can you take off your clothes?” he said while trying to be respectful of what she had just been through.

“Yeah, can you help?” she asked him, not wanting to open the wound she had just sealed shut.

He nodded, as she helped her sit up to not strain the wound she had just closed. Lifting her arms, he removed the shirt along with the mask and hood that was attached to it. As it was being removed, down fell her leather pouch full of senbon.

“Was that in… On your breast…?” he asked, trying to hold back a smile while lifting an eyebrow.

She nodded.

Kakashi tried hard to stifle a chuckle, but wasn’t very successful.

“What?” She asked smiling at him

“Why…?” He asked motioning his two hands for an explanation.

“Just trying to keep my weapons close without making noise.” She said while letting a giggle escape.

“Hmmm... What else is in there?” He said while grabbing her shirt and putting his face to it trying to look into it to make her laugh.

And laugh she did. Hard. Until the wound she closed started to hurt. Laughter was just what she needed right now and she was appreciative of him for giving it to her.

“Ok time to remove the underwear.” Kakashi told her quietly, moving towards her legs.

Laying back down, she moved her legs to lift up her waist. Cautiously and slowly he removed her bottoms with the utmost care. He looked at her furrowing his brow in concentration, trying to see if there were any other injuries he missed. There were a few other minor scrapes that he cleaned with the cloth before realizing he had forgotten cotton balls. Kakashi got up and went to go get some while she kept a close watch on his movements, just happy to finally see him again.

“Ok, I’m going to start with the rubbing alcohol.” He stated, pausing before starting to give her a chance to protest if need be. She was appreciative of how gentle he was being and how he was taking his time to ask her at each step if everything was ok. After a mission like that she felt nothing but vulnerable. Normally she would just sleep until she had the strength to take care of these things herself. Being around him made her feel safe but vulnerable. There was no longer a numbness protecting her, and this was something she would have to get used to if they were to continue.

Carefully, he disinfected her wounds. They let silence fall between them again while she drifted in and out of sleep. Having forgotten something again, she saw him return to the bathroom behind half lidded eyes. This time, he returned with some gauze and medical tape. With it, he dressed the wound on the left side of her abdomen. He grabbed everything he used to patch her up and placed it in the bathroom. Laying down, he grabbed the blanket and covered them both.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead before falling back asleep.


	6. Pancakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the grammar and I'm going to keep putting this up before every chapter until it is edited to not be a mess.

When she awoke, it took her a moment to realize where she was. When she opened her eyes she saw that Kakashi was no longer in bed with her.

“Hey, you, you’re finally awake” She turned to see Pakkun speaking to her “Good. Kakashi’s been pretty worried over in the kitchen muttering to himself.”

“Shut up Pakkun!” She heard Kakashi yelling in the distance. Chuckling to herself, she started to get up, but quickly winced in pain. After struggling for a moment, she managed to do so. Walking over to the kitchen, she saw Kakashi making breakfast.

_ Damn _ , she thought.  _ He’s already wearing clothes.  _ She leaned up against the wall by the door facing the small kitchen. He seemed to be concentrating hard on what he was doing.

Thinking she was still in the bedroom, “How do you like your eggs?” He shouted.

“Scrambled”

Noticing the voice had neared, he looked behind him “Oh you’re a- … Naked.” He uttered as his cheeks turned red.

“That I am.” she told him flirtatiously “And you’re not.” Walking towards him, she made sure to sway her hips walking slowly and seductively. “What a shame…”

“Would you like some clothes?” He asked, still trying to be mindful. But she didn’t want him to be mindful anymore. She was exuding confidence with every stride she took as she headed towards him.

Finally, she reached the kitchen. “I would like less clothes actually.” she said while pulling down the zipper of his flak jacket. Looking up at him and biting her bottom lip while starting to grow a devilish smile, she took off the flak jacket and let it slowly fall to the floor.

Kakashi stood quietly and turned off the stove. He looked at her and saw the lust deep within her eyes, but he let her take the lead. Slowly she lifted his sweatshirt with one hand and used the other to feel his abdomen while also pushing him against the wall. He raised his arms and finished taking off the sweatshirt and shirt that had his mask attached as she couldn’t reach. His headband also got caught in the shirt and fell to the ground. Meeting his gaze, she noticed he kept his sharingan eye closed this time.

She wrapped both of her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. The kiss was deep and full of desire. The kissing started with his bottom lip, moved to the top, then parted her mouth asking for entry. He obliged and gave her entry, with her tongue darting inside seeming a little desperate and longing. Moving closer into him, she let a soft moan escape in between kisses. Finally, he decided on fully giving into her by placing one arm around her neck and his hand on the small of her back.

Suddenly she stopped, but only to start kissing him along his jaw, down his neck, to his collarbone. She sucked, and hard as if she were trying to leave a mark on him. Kakashi was enjoying himself too much to care. She repositioned herself to have one of her legs between his so she could melt further into him. Once she decided she was done sucking she decided to bite his skin a little to pinch it. Surprised, he let out a yelp.

“Whats the matter? Like giving pain but not receiving it?” She asked playfully.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear “I love a little pain.” Nibbling on her ear, he sent goosebumps down her spine and she knew she needed more of him. She yanked his arm and led him back to the bedroom, swaying her hips on the way. 

She pushed him inside the bedroom and closed the door behind her. Walking up to him, she pulled down his pants and underwear, which he then stepped out of. She started to walk around him looking him up and down as she went while carefully tracing her fingers along his scarred skin before finally asking him: “What’s your safe word?”

The idea of a safe word made him smirk. He knew what was going to happen would at least be interesting. Despite that, Kakashi had never really been with anyone he could experiment with, so he didn’t have a safe word. Not wanting to seem inexperienced, he flatly said “Pancakes.”

She stalled in front of him and raised an eyebrow. “Pancakes?” she questioned.

Grabbing her neck, he leaned in and whispered “Pancakes” into her ear. The hot breath sent shivers down her spine. With it she regained composure and pushed him onto the bed with a single hand.

She slowly crawled up to his erection while biting her lips. Taking her left hand she grabbed the shaft and let her thumb feel his tip that was wet with precum. She licked it off, and enveloped her mouth about halfway down his long shaft and when pulling back up she sucked down hard. Bobbing her head a few times, she then rolled her tongue around his entire thick tip, resting on the frenulum and flicking it. Kakashi moaned and his length twitched at every flick her tongue made, until eventually he was able to muster out the word: “Tease.”

When she heard that word it gave her a sudden flick of anger at his rebellion. She crawled up to meet his gaze and lightly slapped his face. “What did you call me?” she growled out at him.

“Tease.” he said with a daring tone.

She crawled up further and placed her knees just enough against his arms, that were resting on the pillows, so that it was a lighter pressure to make sure to not hurt him… too much. Grabbing his hair, she hovered her slit over his face and demanded: “Lick.”

And lick he did. His tongue entered her slit and began to flick her clit with his tongue and began to suck. Letting out moans at the waves of pleasure that washed over her, she clenched his hair tighter. When he started flicking and sucking more intensely, she found herself thrusting slightly at the pleasure. She moved one of her legs and for the command to come out stern it came out in the form of a deep growl: “Use your fingers.”

Kakashi wasn’t sure that he would be turned on by her displays of dominance, but the truth was… He was excited. This new side was something he hadn’t experienced yet, and so far he was thoroughly enjoying himself so he obeyed and thrust two fingers inside of her and curled up to hit the spot he knew she loved so much.

“Kakashi!” loud moans came out of her mouth. She could feel herself coming close. “Faster.” the word was uttered between moans, and faster he moved. She quickly came after and he gave a few last flicks to let her ride out the rest of her orgasm.

Lifting her other knee to free his arm, she crawled back down, aligned his member up with her entrance, and filled herself with him. She looked up at him playfully, “What’s wrong, didn’t think I’d forget about you now, did you?” She lifted her hips up, then down, then thrusting forward at the end, but this time she pinned Kakashi’s arms above his head. Quickly, she realized she was a bit short to be managing this. She managed to see some bells attached to a string nearby. She grabbed them and used them to tie his wrists together. He seemed to feel a certain way about using this to tie up his wrists, but his concern quickly faded with the way she moved and thrusted.

She leaned down to place her cheek next to his, and without ever missing a beat she whispered into his ear: “I want to hear you moan my name.”

Letting out a deep growl into her ear “Kessho.” Hearing that turned her on even more, to which she sped up her pace causing him to grunt more in pleasure.

“Say it again.” She demanded.

“Kessho.” he said as he was getting close, and so was she. The wound on her abdomen was starting to cause her pain as she sped up, but the ecstasy she was enveloped in was all the more consuming.

Speeding up even further, she straightened up, grabbed Kakashi’s sides and sank her nails into him. He winced at the pain, but also let out a deep animalistic growl in pleasure. This final act led to them both climaxing at once riding their waves.

Shortly after she grabbed his wrists and untied them, dropping the bells on his chest. Collapsing down, she realized she probably overexerted herself. Kakashi turned to her and placed a hand on her cheek and used it to pull her in and kiss her forehead.

Steadying his gaze to her he said, “That was incredible and quite exhilarating.” She could tell he was definitely feeling a sense of satisfaction.

“Hatake Kakashi… Have you never been dominated before?” She said with the most teasing tone she could muster.

“None have ever quite matched you, my dearest” He said. Usually, he wasn’t the one to be inexperienced, so he hid his feelings away to avoid embarrassment.

“Mhm…” She said as she narrowed her eyes at him. The soreness from her wounds began to surface again. “I may have gotten a little carried away” referring to her wounds.

“I’ll say. I’m going to be late now. Ah well. The eggs should be done. I’m going to get dressed and head out. You stay here for the day. Help yourself if you’re hungry. I’ll be back this evening.” He spoke to her while trying to steady his breathing still. He gave her one last kiss on the forehead and walked out of the bedroom with her never taking her eyes off him.

Hearing the door close, she decided she should probably eat. She got up, still naked, to head to the kitchen in the apartment she had been familiarized with. The eggs had grown cold, but she was too hungry to care. After having finished eating, she washed the dishes she used and those he had used to make the food. She walked to the bathroom and looked at the mirror. Bruises and cuts marked her skin.

_ How did…? _ She thought, looking at the bruise on her right cheek. Shaking her head, she moved to undo the dressings on her wound. Opening the cabinet, she was planning on changing them but she looked over to the tub. It seemed awfully inviting. She crouched down and looked in the cabinets under the sink to see if there was any Epsom salt. There was, and much to her relief as she knew her sore muscles could use it.

She walked over and started to run her bath and poured a hefty amount of the epsom salts into the bath occasionally stirring to make sure it all dissolved. After a few minutes, she turned off the bath and got in. The warm water was soothing and helped relax her sore muscles. She found herself closing her eyes and resting her head at the edge of the tub. The sun creeped in and hit her eyes. It seemed that she had fallen asleep in the tub, but she wasn’t quite sure how long she had been in there. She looked at her hands. They sure were pruney.

_ Must’ve been in here a while _ she thought to herself. She got up and let the water drain while she grabbed a spare towel and dried herself off. Placing a hand on her teleportation tattoo, she grabbed a pair of underwear to put on. On the ground of the bedroom, she found one of Kakashi’s shinobi sweatshirts and smelled it. It smelled of him, but it didn’t stink. She dressed her wounds and decided to put on the sweatshirt she found. It was loose around the sides, but it hung over her covering  _ most _ of her butt.

Finding herself wandering to the kitchen, she decided to cook some dinner for the two of them. The fridge was bare when she opened it to look at what to cook. This was proving to be rather difficult. Luckily, she managed to find more eggs, some instant noodles, and some other ingredients to upscale a nice bowl of ramen.  _ Time to make it fancy _ she thought to herself chuckling.

Kakashi entered to the sound of clanking around. “Kessho?” He called out.

“I’m making dinner.” she said as she smiled at him.

She folded her arms underneath her breasts and rested them on the counter before her. “I can hear that.” He responded quickly. “It smells nice enough.”

Pouting at his comment “I know how to cook you know, unlike someone who had a bare fridge.”

“Oh um, I’ve been meaning to get some groceries.” He said defensively.

“Mhm.” she hummed turning to the pots boiling with the broth for the ramen. She sliced the boiled eggs in half, poured in the broth to the bowls containing the ramen, and added the final touches. She placed the bowls side by side on the bartop and sat next to Kakashi.

Pulling down his mask, he looked over to her and kissed her cheek. “Thank you for dinner. I could get used to this...” Smiling back at him, she began to eat, with him following suit. “By the way, is that my shirt?”

“Well I could’ve stayed topless, but I was getting a little cold.” She said playfully. He turned red at the thought. “I don’t need to use my abilities to know what that face means...” she said while knocking her knee with his.

Both chuckled lightly and finished their dinner. They then grabbed the dishes and put them in the sink. Kakashi tried to insist on doing them himself since she cooked, but she was having none of it. Grabbing the tea towel, she dried off every dish he handed to her. Putting them back on the tall shelves was a little more out of her reach as he noticed when she was standing on her tippy toes. Sneaking a peek, he stepped back for a moment to admire the view before him. Her cheeks were peeking out below the sweatshirt and to him looked so very supple. He held out both hands and grabbed as he moved forward, closer to her resting his chin on her head. Quietly, she let out a moan and brought the dish back down placing it on the stove in front of her and she rubbed herself against him. She turned around to face him with his hands still placed on her hips. She was thankful that he kept his mask down. 

Leaning down he engaged her in a passionate kiss while she placed her arms around his neck. Without breaking the kiss, he moved his hands further down her thighs, picked her up and placed her on the counter. Now he would have no problem kissing her. Leaning into her he spread her legs and pulled her close while purring in her ear: “How about a quick and dirty before watching a movie?”

She snaked her fingers into his hair and pulled lightly. There was his answer and he groaned in pleasure upon receiving it. Moving to undo his pants, she rested her forehead on his. He moved the back of his two fingers to her slit and pushed her lace panties to the side feeling already how soaked they were.

“Already hard, are we?” She said in a hushed seductive tone while reaching into his pants and pulling out his long thick cock and rubbing his shaft a few times in the process.

“You’re one to talk.” He responded playfully. Moving her to the very edge of the counter while lining himself up to her, he looked deep into her eyes and held an intense gaze. He slowly inserted himself into her and she gazed right back. He quickly started to pick up the pace and they held a raw intense stare while both were grunting in an almost animalistic manner. They both placed their hands behind each other’s necks and held tightly, further intensifying their powerful stare as he sped up. The tension building was fervent as they both continued to grunt.

“I’m. So. Close.” She growled out between grunts. This signaled him to pick up the pace and that he did. She soon broke the stare and arched her back in the utmost pleasure feeling her walls close around his shaft, his ecstasy followed shortly after. He gave a final few swift strong thrusts. Finally she straightened out and looked back to the eye that’s showing. “That was amazing, and you sir… You’re very well endowed.”

“Well I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” He purred to her while sliding out of her and moving her panties back. “Now lets go watch that movie.” He suggested while brushing some baby hairs behind her ear. He picked her up again and placed her on the couch. Walking over to his bedroom, he took off his vest and sweatshirt before grabbing a blanket and a movie.They both sat calmly for the rest of their night, snuggled into each other until they fell asleep on the couch. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So before people get riled up, there's two ways that people can react to what she just had gone through. There's the very common, 'don't touch me I'm afraid of men now' reaction, which is totally valid and warranted... Then there's the 'I need to regain control over what happened so I'm going to make the rules now.' which is much less discussed but still very valid and real. So Kessho reacts with the latter. If you don't believe that's possible, well I guess I'm not possible, so you can just either skip the chapter or stop reading. 
> 
> For those who understand what happened here, I hope you enjoyed it.  
> Also yea this is the chapter that contains the title.


	7. Such is the life of a shinobi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Good morning. How are you feeling?” He asked her.
> 
> “I’m feeling a lot better. Thank you.” She said smiling at him. “I think I’m ready to head to the Hokage today with my mission report.” Hearing Kakashi let out a small sigh, she walked over to him to embrace him, nestling into his chest. She knew what that sigh meant. He was clearly enjoying her presence and having her around. Although she never stayed in a single place for long, she could imagine coming home constantly to an empty home (save a few ninja dogs) would start to feel rather lonely. As soon as she turned in her mission report the Hokage would have something else lined up with her leaving in a day or two at the most, leaving everything empty again. Looking up at him she said: “Thank you for taking such good care of me. You’ve been so good to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter before a very hard one. Sorry again for the grammar.

When she awoke the next morning, she was in his bed. During the night he must’ve grabbed her and moved her to the bed, she pondered. When she got up she saw him making toast.

“Morning” she told him.

“Good morning. How are you feeling?” He asked her.

“I’m feeling a lot better. Thank you.” She said smiling at him. “I think I’m ready to head to the Hokage today with my mission report.” Hearing Kakashi let out a small sigh, she walked over to him to embrace him, nestling into his chest. She knew what that sigh meant. He was clearly enjoying her presence and having her around. Although she never stayed in a single place for long, she could imagine coming home constantly to an empty home (save a few ninja dogs) would start to feel rather lonely. As soon as she turned in her mission report the Hokage would have something else lined up with her leaving in a day or two at the most, leaving everything empty again. Looking up at him she said: “Thank you for taking such good care of me. You’ve been so good to me.”

“Of course.” He told her before leaning down and kissing the top of her head.

Stealing a piece of toast, she ran into the bedroom and summoned another one of her Anbu uniforms. After getting dressed she headed back over to him with the skin tight top that had the mask and hood attached. “I’ll be back to say goodbye if I have to leave again this evening, ok?”

“Ok.” He nodded. She kissed him with the masks they both wore separating their lips. She rushed to the bedroom and without much thought he followed. Grabbing her Owl mask, she put it on while she perched on his windowsill. With that, she was off while Kakashi watched her jump from rooftop to rooftop until she wasn’t visible anymore.

Upon arriving at her office she changed into a yakuta decorated with morning glories on it, put on her obi, and redid her bun so that it hung behind her head instead of on top. After she was done getting dressed, she headed up to see the Hokage who received her immediately. When she entered, she locked the door behind her and pulled out the report hidden behind her obi handing it to the Hokage.

“I take it everything went smoothly?” He said as his eyes were scanning the report.

“Not exactly…” He seemed to have gotten to the part she was referring to as his eyes widened.

“I see… Well... You never cease to impress me. How are your injuries?” He said as he put down the report.

“Tended to but not fully healed. If the next mission is pure reconnaissance, then I should be fine to go.”

“Well it is reconnaissance and I’m sorry I can’t let you rest longer, but this is an urgent matter. There are rumors of defected ninja from the Village Hidden by Rocks. It shouldn’t take too long, but there isn’t much else to go on. We need you to verify if the threat even exists, for if it does, the rumors say they are headed here, but we are not sure why.”

“If they were headed here, did you want me to take care of the threat?” She asked with only slight hesitation as she felt the injury on the left side of her abdomen.

“Only if you feel you are able to handle it yourself. I know you like taking on things alone, but really Kessho, we have other Anbu or even Jonin here I can send to do things like that.” He said it very matter of factly.

She did sometimes push herself when she probably shouldn’t have, mostly because it’s what she thought she was trained to do. This time she might approach more cautiously. Getting herself ready to leave, she bowed to the Hokage and said: “I shall leave at nightfall.”

* * *

After roaming around the village all day she walked back towards the Hokage’s building to head to her office. Quietly opening the door without attracting too much attention, she changed into her special Anbu uniform and made her way to Kakashi’s apartment sneaking in the usual window. It didn’t look like he was home yet. She took off her Anbu mask and walked over to the bookcase. She started to scan the books seeing what there was. To her surprise, they were trashy romance novels. Grabbing one she sat on his bed and began to read.

About an hour had passed and suddenly she heard a door open, so she quickly stuffed the book under his pillow after having marked what page she was on without thinking.  _ What a shame… _ she thought  _ it was just starting to get steamy. _

Kakashi walked into his bedroom to see her sitting cross-legged in his bed. “Oh, you’re here! Were you waiting long?”

“Not too long.”

“I see you’re in your uniform…” he mentioned disheartened. She got up in an attempt to comfort him.

“This mission shouldn’t be too long.” She tried to say in a consoling tone, but she wasn’t too sure she was being very convincing. “I wish I didn’t have to go so soon, but I need to. I’m sorry.” Starting to feel guilty she held onto him tightly.

“Hey… It’s okay, such is the life of a shinobi, right?” He said as he hunched, trying to meet her gaze. While also trying to alleviate her guilt, he rubbed her back with one of his hands while the other simply held her.

The sun was setting, which meant it would be time for her to go soon. Instead they opted to continue to hold each other, trying to remain in that comfort for as long as they could as they had both turned to watch the sky change colors while looking out the window. The moment was solemn, but also affectionate and tender. Feeling him start to pull back she lowered the mask that covered her lips, and so did he. They shared a soft warm kiss that didn’t last long for fear if they lingered, they would want more.

Without saying anything she lifted her mask and turned to the open window. She grabbed her owl mask sitting on his desk and perched at the window as she put it on. She turned back, allowing herself one last glance before she vanished into the night.


	8. Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> They continued this pattern of seeing each other inconsistently for quite some time. Very rarely did they ever see each other twice in one month. In fact, it was much more common for them to go without seeing each other for more than a month at a time. Their relationship resembled a roller coaster, or an on-again off-again relationship. Always longing for each other when apart, and a sense of desperation and longing for more time when they were together. As the time progressed, she dropped off letters less often, but the amount she would right would stay more or less the same. Kakashi however didn’t match this… Instead he began to write less and less as time went on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short hard chapter to write. Sorry about grammar.

They continued this pattern of seeing each other inconsistently for quite some time. Very rarely did they ever see each other twice in one month. In fact, it was much more common for them to go without seeing each other for more than a month at a time. Their relationship resembled a roller coaster, or an on-again off-again relationship. Always longing for each other when apart, and a sense of desperation and longing for more time when they were together. As the time progressed, she dropped off letters less often, but the amount she would right would stay more or less the same. Kakashi however didn’t match this… Instead he began to write less and less as time went on. This pattern continued for a little over two years.

She finally managed to get to their spot. Exhausted and looking tattered, but without any real wounds, she removed the rock that usually contained their notes. In it was a single letter.

_ Just one?  _ She thought. It had been over a month since she checked. Surely she expected at least two… Nonetheless she opened it and read:

> _ “My dearest Kessho, _
> 
> _ I always look forward to seeing you as you know. It fills my heart with joy every time you wake up next to me in the mornings when you’re here. It also eats away at me when you aren’t here. _
> 
> _ You’ve brought a lot of happiness into my life and filled my heart with joy, but when you’re gone it just leaves a gaping hole in my heart. _
> 
> _ I love you Kessho. I really do, but I can’t do this anymore. _
> 
> _ I know you aren’t ready to give up being Anbu yet, and I never could ask you to… but this is getting to be too much for me and I can’t do this anymore. Please don’t show up to my apartment. Please respect my wishes. _
> 
> _ Kakashi” _

She quickly teleported the letter to her office using her tattoo and backed up against the wall of the shallow cave. Slowly, she sank to the ground and a growing numb feeling creeped up again on her. This feeling was one she was all too familiar with. She laid on her side resting her head on her arm, slowly creeping to the fetal position. He had never told her he loved her before. She knew he did, and they certainly acted like they did, but he had never explicitly used those words. The numbness she had felt started to slither into a new feeling. One of death. She felt lifeless, and there her lifeless body stayed until she fell asleep for a while.

After a few hours passed she awoke. This time instead of making her usual stop at Kakashi’s she decided to head straight to her office, respecting Kakashi’s wishes.

She got dressed into some business attire and put her hair up and sat in the Hokage's office awaiting her next mission.

Every mission she went on after that, she would still write to him, fully knowing he would never respond. She did it more for herself than anything. Deep down she still felt heartache, but she covered it up by pretending there was still something, or rather,  **someone** to live for. There was no want to return to the days of when she was merely a shield or a sword for Konoha to use, she liked having a reason to keep going other than pride for her village. Frankly, she was never there enough to really have her feel like it was her village… So having something… Something other than that to keep her going, it was more than a want she had. It was a need. She tried her best to return to her neutral numb self, stifling down all other emotions other than the desire to exist as more than a tool. Going back to the way she was numb before she met Kakashi, and she mostly did save for writing to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that you might not enjoy this chapter if you are emotionally invested. But know this isn't the end.


	9. Domestic Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> Lord Third looked at her intensely, studying her face. She was baffled. The Hokage had just gotten done explaining she was to move to Konoha and pose as a newly retired Anbu transferring to standard ops as a Jonin.
> 
> “For what purpose?” she asked with a muddled tone.
> 
> “We’ve had some concerns for attacks here. I want to pull some of my recruits in and the missions I have are all missions that other Anbu can take care of. You may occasionally receive missions to act as the ninja that does not exist, and for that it is important to conceal that part of you, but for the most part you can act as a normal kunoichi. I’ve even put your real name in the transfer papers, Kessho.” Lord Sarutobi encouraged her while handing her the somewhat forged transfer papers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the grammar.   
> Didn't want to leave on a cliffhanger that was too bad. I think. Idk what I'm doing rn, I'm just vibing.

Lord Third looked at her intensely, studying her face. She was baffled. The Hokage had just gotten done explaining she was to move to Konoha and pose as a newly retired Anbu transferring to standard ops as a Jonin.

“For what purpose?” she asked with a muddled tone.

“We’ve had some concerns for attacks here. I want to pull some of my recruits in and the missions I have are all missions that other Anbu can take care of. You may occasionally receive missions to act as the ninja that does not exist, and for that it is important to conceal that part of you, but for the most part you can act as a normal kunoichi. I’ve even put your real name in the transfer papers, Kessho.” Lord Sarutobi encouraged her while handing her the somewhat forged transfer papers.

Looking at them, she read slowly in disbelief. Her stomach turned in knots from mixed feelings. Kakashi… That’s where her mind went. She liked the idea of being able to relax a little more, but she wasn’t sure how she’d feel now that she might run into him.

“Ah Kakashi.” said the Third “You’re finally here.”

_ What. No. No. No. No.  _ She thought while trying to prevent her eyes from growing wide, but failing to keep from growing rigid. Daring not to face him for as long as she could muster without having it be obvious, she tried to put on a façade, which was typically the most natural thing for her, but with him… She had allowed herself real feelings. It would never be as easy with him. Subtly taking a deep breath, she looked up at him quizzically. His eyes drifted to her and for a split second they showed utter shock before rapidly going back to his usual calm demeanor. Then, his eyes drifted elsewhere. She had been wearing a low-cut dress that exposed her breasts and the length of it was short where she had to be careful not to show her summoning tattoos. The dress also had sleeves, so it covered her Anbu tattoo, perfect for her to wear around the village. Kakashi was somewhat gawking at her, but when he caught himself he also realized it wasn’t very out of character for him.

She stood up to bow at Kakashi, and then turned to the Hokage awaiting for him to explain why the man she knew and still begrudgingly loved was in the room.

Lord Sarutobi finally explained: “Kessho, meet Kakashi. I know you are familiarized with the village, but I assigned Kakashi as your guide to help introduce you to the other shinobi.” Then he turned to Kakashi to address him: “Kakashi, this is Kessho. She is retiring from the Anbu service to serve in the regular forces as a jonin. Kakashi, why don’t you also make sure to show her to her house?” Lord Third handed over an envelope that contained the address and a key. “You two are dismissed.”

He held the door open for her and she walked on ahead of him. He hadn’t noticed at first, but she was wearing red heels to match her dress. It also cinched at her waist. Unable to help himself, he started to watch her walking ahead of him. “I can feel your eyes you know.” She muttered to him. Given that she could still feel those watchful eyes, she decided to listen into what they were looking at so intently.

Suddenly he remembered who he was looking at letting all the memories flood back. His heart ached.  _ Could she really be retiring? _ Thought Kakashi to himself.  _ Would that even change anything? _ He convinced himself that it would. Because of course, she would be around! That was the main problem they struggled with after all. This would mean they could work things out. He looked at her as she was turning down the staircase. She didn’t seem too happy to him. Would she even forgive him?

She stopped listening in… Those were not the thoughts she thought he was going to have. Her stomach turned up in knots.  _ That was way too private. You shouldn’t have done that… And now you know all these things you shouldn’t know… Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.  _

Despite everything she understood why he did what he did. She had even started to get over him within the past year, albeit by the help of many suitors. The problem was that seeing him again stirred up something in her. This pit of despair, which then the fact that the pit existed made her angry. She wasn’t trained to  **actually** fall in love. Nobody trained her on how to deal with heartbreak. She didn’t understand these feelings she was having but mostly she was frustrated at not knowing how to get rid of them.

“So are you actually…?” Kakashi uttered.

She grabbed his arm and flickered into her office in the Hokage building before he could say anymore. At long last she faced him to look him in the eye. She had purposefully been avoiding doing this for good reason as she was worried looking into them, she would finally cry those tears that she thrust down deep inside her all those years ago.

She tried to speak at first, but her voice cracked. Clearing her throat, she looked at him and said: “I’m not actually retired, no. I guess there isn’t a lot for me to do out there and the reinforcements are needed here. I didn’t think I’d be here all that long but then he gave me a house…? Part of some sort of bonus I guess.” She snatched the envelope containing the key and read the address. “I’ll still be occasionally assigned to the covert ops I used to get, just not anywhere near as frequently.”

Kakashi seemed to be taking it all in, which she felt that she was doing herself. Even so, she couldn’t stand to look at him any longer. She grabbed a duffle bag and started stuffing the clothing that she felt most _ normal _ in. The word  _ normal _ kind of felt strange to her. Having been so used to pretending to be other people, she wasn’t really sure what she even considered normal…. She liked the dress that she had on… Grab more things like that? She started grabbing things that were similar and stuffed them into her bag.

Kakashi was staring at her. She might not understand everything she was feeling, but she knew she was clearly overwhelmed with all of this sudden change. “Hey… It’ll be ok… Just breathe.” He said as he started to walk towards her.

“NO.” She said somewhat loudly and angrily. This visibly took Kakashi by surprise, she had never yelled at him before. “Just… Just leave please.” she had lowered her voice and it sounded at the end like she was pleading.  _ Makeup? Yes. _ she thought as she poured all of her makeup into the large duffle bag and continued contemplating what she liked and thought was worth bringing.

In her periphery, she could tell Kakashi was contemplating her request. She was hoping that he wouldn’t use some lame excuse like ‘technically the Hokage requested he escort her…’ she just wanted him to leave. “I’m sorry but I can’t leave, I’m a shinobi and it’s my mission to escort you” He smiled at her trying his best to be lighthearted.

She couldn’t help but scoff as her prediction came true and she was having none of it. Walking over to her bookcase she gathered her latest research notebooks. The notebooks were labeled Puppets, Self-Cursing Seal, and… she hesitated at the last notebook, which was labeled Sharingan, but she grabbed it anyway. Lastly she looked at her owl mask… Dropping the duffle bag, she grabbed hold of the mask and sat cross legged on the floor looking at it with the owl facing her. Suddenly she felt water on her cheek. She looked up at the ceiling looking for the leak, but she didn’t see any. There it was again, another drop of water rolling down her cheek.

Kakashi sees her crying and goes to kneel next to her “Kessho…”

“NOpe” she stuffed the mask in her duffle bag and closed it shut and flickered out of there as fast as she could, duffle bag and all. She ran with the duffle bag for a few miles until she finally reached her place. It was a wooden house on the outskirts of town, which she appreciated. It seemed to come with quite a bit of land as the nearest neighbor was a ways away and she was located at the end of the street. She stood up to the red door and pulled the envelope from between her breasts and grabbed the key.  _ I like red… I think it’s my favorite color _ she thought, which then she felt dumb for thinking it. That’s such a simple thing, how did she not know before? She supposed a lot of her disguises were red so maybe Lord Hokage assumed it was? She clearly knew herself deep down, but it was never really a question she had asked herself before. I mean maybe she had when she was five, but back then it was pink. And every five year old girl’s favorite color is pink.

Walking into the living room it was pretty bare, but she also had just gotten a whole house paid for. There was a couch against a wall and a coffee table a little further back a small area for dining, then the kitchen. At the end was a bedroom on the left, and a door to the bathroom right next to it. It was simple,  **not** overwhelming. This is exactly what she needed right now. She dropped the duffle bag and rushed to the bathroom. There was a large bathtub with a shower head. Perfect for when coming back from long missions! Except, she wouldn’t be doing that as much anymore…

She walked over to her duffle bag and opened it. Pulling out her mask she sat on the couch and looked at it. There was a knocking at the door. She didn’t need to use any special skills to know who it was. Lord Third had no need to make his way down here and the only other person that knew where she lived was... Leaving the mask on the couch, she walked over to the door. She answered it but closed the door behind her and met with him on the small porch.

“What do you want Kakashi?” She said in an irritated tone while folding her arms beneath her chest.

Kakashi looked hurt, which made her heart ache even more. “I just wanted to know that you were ok.”

The gates were open. She tried so hard to keep herself calm and collected, but maybe this is how feelings worked. “NO. I’m not ok. I’m not even mad at you, I understand why you did it, but I just can’t handle this heartache from you, or us, that just started to go away until I saw you again, which how do you even get rid of these feelings anyway because I  **really** don’t want them anymore and then I’m happy about being able to relax more but worried about running into you and not going on missions anymore and not pretending to be someone else when I don’t even know who I am and… and…” Tears streamed down her cheeks and Kakashi was taken aback at this sudden floodgate rush of emotions. “Please Kakashi… I respected your wishes to not go to your house that night, now please respect mine and leave me be. I need time.”

Kakashi felt defeated. If there was ever going to be a glimmer of hope, he needed to give her the space she was asking for. “I’m sorry. If you need me, you know where to find me.” And with that he left.


	10. Drunken Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> She heard it. It was the bar she was looking for, it seemed to have just the right amount of people, plenty of people, but not overcrowded either. So where was it? She picked up her pace a little spotting it at the corner of the street. When she walked in she saw about two people clearly wearing shinobi uniforms with two women, one of whom was looking straight at her. The one looking at her had purple hair and was wearing a fishnet outfit with a cloak on top. “Heyyy…” the woman started to say while still looking at her “You’re that new kunoichi!” The lady kept making motions for her to come sit, so she joined them. “Now, I’m Anko, that’s Guy, that’s Kurenai, and that’s Asuma.” Each one smiled as Anko said their name.
> 
> “I’m Kessho.” She mustered out.
> 
> “So if you’re gonna join us, you need to catch up with us.” Anko poured four shots of sake. “That’s how far behind you are. Think you can handle it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grammar bad. Sorry.

Having done her makeup but still wearing the same outfit from earlier, she decided to go into town heading to a bar. She had no groceries in her fridge and she figured that was something she could worry about tomorrow. Once she finally got into town, she looked around trying to find a bar that had plenty of people. If they were shinobi, then even better. She didn’t need Kakashi to make new friends. This was something she could do all on her own. It was something she had done all on her own before… As someone else. It shouldn’t be that hard to make friends as herself… Right?

She heard it. It was the bar she was looking for, it seemed to have just the right amount of people, plenty of people, but not overcrowded either. So where was it? She picked up her pace a little spotting it at the corner of the street. When she walked in she saw about two people clearly wearing shinobi uniforms with two women, one of whom was looking straight at her. The one looking at her had purple hair and was wearing a fishnet outfit with a cloak on top. “Heyyy…” the woman started to say while still looking at her “You’re that new kunoichi!” The lady kept making motions for her to come sit, so she joined them. “Now, I’m Anko, that’s Guy, that’s Kurenai, and that’s Asuma.” Each one smiled as Anko said their name.

“I’m Kessho.” She mustered out.

“So if you’re gonna join us, you need to catch up with us.” Anko poured four shots of sake. “That’s how far behind you are. Think you can handle it?”

Without saying a word, she drank all four shots one by one. “Simple enough.” She shrugged.

“Well alright then! So I heard you’re retired Anbu, right? Come on there’s gotta be at least one juicy story you can tell us!” Anko squealed at the newfound excitement. 

The one named Guy chimed up “Now, now Anko, you know we aren’t supposed to know these things. Leave her be.”

“Well there might be a few stories I can tell.” She said interjecting. “I’ll just have to be careful to not let anything slip or I might have to kill you.” She said with the straightest face. Everyone instantly grew wide eyed and began to lean away. She started cracking up laughing at them all. “You should’ve seen your faces!” Everyone at the table visibly relaxed while recouperating as her bad joke somewhat awkwardly. “So one time I was disguised as a commoner” They all began leaning in, visibly intrigued by the story. She started pouring herself another shot of sake and ordered two bottles for the table. “And I saw my target drinking at a bar. He was begging to have someone challenge him.”

“Did you challenge him to a fight? A race? A thumb war?” Guy questioned in anticipation.

“Calm down and let her speak.” The one named Kurenai ordered.

“Well no, I challenged him to see who could drink the most shots of sake.” She answered and then drank another shot.

“So who won?” The one called Asuma asked somewhat in disbelief that someone as short as her could handle much liquor.

“I did. I told him if he can beat me, he can have his way with me, but if I won he has to answer any question I ask him with the absolute truth.” She spoke confidently. 

“Why would you give yourself away like that?!” Kurenai asked, concerned about the way the story was going.

“If he won he would’ve had to drink himself into a stupor. No way he was going to be able to get anything working to do anything that night.” She shrugged. “And after that I would’ve just escaped and search his room for what I needed. If I didn’t then I’d just restrategize.” She explained to Kurenai as she poured herself another shot of sake.

“She’s right you know” Anko said in agreement.

“Psh. The guy must’ve been a lightweight.” Asuma said in disbelief.

“I won by drinking three bottles of sake” She said as she took another shot.

“You  **did not** drink three bottles of sake!” Asuma said slurring his words.

“Why not? I’ve already drank one.” She gestured to the six empty sake glasses before her.

“WOAH… Alright!” Asuma motioned to high five her. She obliged him and found herself smiling.

“Ok, now show us your tattoo!” Anko yelled. Luckily the bar was so crowded and loud no one could hear her except those at the table. You quickly rolled up the sleeve to reveal and just as quickly rolled it back down. You poured yourself another shot.

“Hey, do you know Kakashi? He was Anbu once upon a time!” Guy said enthusiastically.

Kakashi… She quickly downed the shot she poured, no longer caring to hide her true expressions. “No, I only just recently met him as the Hokage introduced us. He was to help introduce me to the other shinobi within Konoha.” She said with her head resting on her hand and the other circling the rim of the sake glass.

“Ah Kakashi! You finally made it!” Guy said greeting the silver haired man she didn’t want to turn to face.

Quickly she poured herself another shot thinking  _ no no no no no no no _ .

“Sorry, I’m late I found myself deep in thought and lost track of the time” he said and she could hear his smile. He hadn’t noticed her there yet. He was too busy looking at all of his friends. And the only seat available was in front of her.

“Fuck” She mumbled as he sat down.

“Hm?” He hummed as he watched her take another shot and instantly grew wide eyed. He seemed uncertain of what to do with her in front of him.

The rest of the group seemed to be talking amongst themselves and were around 5-6 shots deep. She poured him a shot as she figured he could use one too right about now. She felt a little fuzzy. Fuzzy enough to stare him head on with eyes glazed over. “It’s fine right now. Here. Take it.” She held up the glass to him trying to keep her answers curt.

From what she could remember, Kakashi doesn’t normally drink much, but she was sure he could use one right now. He lowered his mask and took the shot quickly.

“Well look at the two Anbu having a moment all to themselves over there! Isn’t that so cute?!” Anko said excited as she placed an arm around her new friend.

She quickly poured a couple more shots, one for her and the other for Kakashi. They both drank together which made the rest of the group coo even more about how cute they were. Kakashi ordered a beer for himself after that.

The night continued on with small talk, and stories as she got to know the group of people she would soon be working with. She actually started to feel excited herself as she felt a sense of belonging, another new thing for her to feel. This was a good feeling though. It let her know that everything was going to be ok.

She even started to chat a little with Kakashi, though deep down her heart still ached. It was light banter, he dared not go further than that. She finished the second bottle of sake she had ordered, and they all decided to call it a night. She got up from her chair for the first time that night and nearly fell over.

“Hey… I thought you said you could down three sake bottles! You only had two!” Asuma shouted in an accusatory manner while slightly slurring his words.

“That mission was two years a-go!” She said with a hiccup at the end. “My tolerance isn’t what it was…” She groaned leaning on the table in front of her. Kakashi on the other hand seemed nothing more than a little giggly. She tried standing up slowly. Ok… She was stable, she took a few steps and stumbled. “Damn heels” she muttered, standing on one foot taking them off just fine because that’s how it always works for some reason.

“Come on.” Suddenly she wasn’t standing anymore. Instead, Kakashi had picked her up. “Clearly you’re in no condition to walk, so I’ll carry you home.” he said smiling with a slight blush. He started to leave the bar. “So you were talking about your missions were you?” He asked curiously, lifting his only visible eyebrow.

“Yeah but I didn’t reveal anything important. Even if I did, I’ll erase all their minds.” Looking over to the rest of the group walking in the other direction she started yelling and waving her right arm: “ALL ERASE ALL YOUR MINDS! YOU HEAR ME?! ALL OF YOU!”

They looked back to see who was yelling. When they saw it was her, they grew wide eyed and scurried off.

Kakashi chuckled. “Wait… You can’t really do that… Can you?”

“Tehehe, I can…” She giggled lightly. “I trained really hard and it’s my special hidden ninjutsu.” She mentioned while blushing like a schoolgirl. “I only do it for people who have seen who I am when they’re not supposed to.”

Kakashi tensed up instantly and she could feel it in the way he carried her.

“Relax, if I was going to do it to you I would’ve done it by now.” She pouted. 

“I suppose that’s true.” She felt the tension that had formed begin to dissipate. 

“Of course, it is. You’re the one person I’ve never lied to.” Even Lord Sarutobi had her lies from her by now. “I never stopped writing to you, you know.”

“Is that so…” He contemplated deep in thought.

“Yup. They’re all still there. At our spot. You know, the one we met at! Although that original crevice got filled, so I had to make a new one to put the rest.” She was babbling. 

“Why?” Was all he could gather.

“Why what?” She questioned in an accusatory manner.

“Why keep writing to me? After all this time… Why?” Kakashi had stopped walking and was looking down into her eyes waiting for an answer.

“I did what I do best. I lied, only this time to myself. I lied to keep myself motivated. If I was left with my thoughts… I don’t know.” She seemed confused with her own babble but he understood the gist of what she was trying to say and began to walk again.

“I haven’t stopped loving you Kakashi…” She confessed. 

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow while going into thought again. 

“I don’t know how to… But I also don’t know how to get rid of the pain… It’s just a lot right now.” She could see how the words she spoke left conflicting thoughts within him, she frowned. They were approaching her house.

“Where’s your key?” Kakashi asked. She put her hands down between her breasts as Kakashi placed her on her feet keeping one arm on her shoulder to steady her. “What are you-?”

“There it is!” She exclaimed while pulling out her key suddenly giddy. She closed one eye and concentrated hard on opening the door. When she was finally able to open it, she lost her balance and fell face first. The bottom of her dress had sprung up and exposed her behind.

Kakashi was mostly sober.  **Mostly** . It took him a moment to regain composure and help her up. He walked her to her bedroom and placed a glass of water on her nightstand. “Ok, I’m going to head home now. Make sure to drink that before you go to bed.”

“Kakashi wait…”

“Hm…?” She grabbed his sweatshirt and pulled down his face mask with surprising strength given the state she was in. Straightening herself up, she kissed him softly, but he could tell she was yearning for more. Without thinking he leaned in, but once she broke the kiss to look at him, he came to his senses. “I’m sorry Kessho… I can’t.” With that he flickered and disappeared. Feeling hurt and disappointed, she turned to her side and pouted until she managed to fall asleep.


	11. Fresh Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> She turned to the young woman, pulled out a money pouch from her shorts pockets, and paid. Then, she grabbed her things, bowed to them both, and left. There were mixed feelings there. On one hand there was a relief of not having to worry about being found out, but she was also blatantly forgotten. A sudden blanket of loneliness shrouded her.
> 
> Looking around her surroundings she found a bookstore to her right. Maybe there was something interesting for her in there. After walking in she found herself walking off to the romance section. It was an isolated corner in the bookstore. Right in front of the bookshelves, there was a table with a display of a newly released book. Icha Icha? She picked it up and read the synopsis. She instantly blushed, but she also liked the idea of the book and it seemed to help her feel a little less alone just by reading the synopsis… Imagine the whole book!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grammar is bad. Sorry.  
> Kessho gets turned on easily. oops.

Waking up with her head pounding, she quickly downed the water on her bedside table. She was starting to regret having gone out last night, especially after remembering how she kissed him. She felt grateful he turned her down as she didn’t know how she would be able to handle it. Getting up, she headed to the bathroom to take a cold shower. 

Lord Third had given her a week off before having to take on any official duties. She figured the best way to use this time, would be to decorate her house. Painting the walls, getting some more furniture, and most importantly food… She got food. It was the Saturday before she started her new position on Monday. It felt odd to have a schedule. Most of the time, she just went with whatever was next on her to do list, somewhat coming and going as she pleased. She had been invited out for drinks again tonight by Anko, to which she accepted. Even though she knew she might run into Kakashi that night, she agreed anyways. This week away from him and giving herself time to settle into the changes around her really helped. So far she actually seemed to be enjoying herself. Debating on what to do until then, she decided that she wanted to start a garden where she could grow her own herbs and flowers for tea.

Whenever she was in Konoha, she had always tried avoiding going into the flower shop, for fear that her clan might actually remember her. This time though, she would be staying in town much longer. Surely she’d run into them eventually... Better to face them now and try to hide her identity as best she could.

She approached the shop and walked in. There was a young woman tending the counter. A young Yamanaka. Too young to remember her existence. When approached the young Yamanaka, she greeted her. “I’m looking for some plants to grow in a garden for tea and other medicinal purposes. I was wondering if you sold whole plants here or seeds.” She smiled at the young woman.

“Oh, well we don’t have any plants, but we have plenty of seeds! You can find them over there.” The young woman told her while pointing to a rack behind some flowers. The rack contained nothing but seeds much to her content. Red Clover, Chamomile, Sage, Vanilla, Rosemary, St. John’s Wort, Mugwort, Sunflower, Lavender, and Alfalfa. Perfect. All the ones she needed were here.

She stood still, as she could feel him approaching. It was Inoichi, the man who submitted her into the program that changed her life. Testing the boundaries of what would allow her to be discovered, she emerged from behind the rack with her seeds. “Ok, I’ll take these please.” She placed all the seeds on the counter.

“Oh I didn’t realize we had a customer. I’m sorry. I just came in to see if my daughter wanted me to pick her up some lunch while I was on my break.” Inoichi mentioned as she turned to face him. He was smiling as he would your average customer. It seems her worries were nothing but that… Worries.

“Yes please” the young woman said to her father. The young woman tending the counter then turned to her and said: “That’ll be 260 ryo.”

She turned to the young woman, pulled out a money pouch from her shorts pockets, and paid. Then, she grabbed her things, bowed to them both, and left. There were mixed feelings there. On one hand there was a relief of not having to worry about being found out, but she was also blatantly forgotten. A sudden blanket of loneliness shrouded her.

Looking around her surroundings she found a bookstore to her right. Maybe there was something interesting for her in there. After walking in she found herself walking off to the romance section. It was an isolated corner in the bookstore. Right in front of the bookshelves, there was a table with a display of a newly released book. Icha Icha? She picked it up and read the synopsis. She instantly blushed, but she also liked the idea of the book and it seemed to help her feel a little less _alone_ just by reading the synopsis… Imagine the whole book!

Unashamed by the contents of the book, she approached the man at the counter and paid for it. Exhilarated by the prospect of the novel she grew impatient and started to read it on her way home. Though she could tell she was getting occasional glances, she didn’t really care. At the corner of her eye, despite being enthralled within her book, she could see a certain silver headed man that she chose to avoid. Pretending to be buried in her book too much to notice seemed like a good strategy… One that she noticed he was using as well… Wait… It was the same book! She blushed slightly at the thought, and it seemed so did he. Butterflies filled her stomach, with a little mix of heartache, but not quite as much as usual. It was still there, but the pain was lessened. In return the feelings of longing were stronger. So time. Time was the answer to how to get rid of feelings of heartbreak…

Well if that were true, then why weren’t those three years enough? _Well I had always been stifling them down…_ She thought to herself. She returned her eyes back to her book and continued as such the rest of the way home.

* * *

She started going through what to wear. She found just the little black dress. The dress was off the shoulder with a ¾ sleeve length and was about 1 few inches above her knee in length with a slit going all the way up her thigh. The dress also had a swooped neckline and was cinched at the waist with a velvet texture. With the dress she put on fishnet stalkings that had a rather large pore and some black 4-inch heels with spikes lining the heel. She kept her makeup simple, black eyeliner to line her deep dark brown eyes, and red lipstick to show off her plump lips. Looking at herself in the mirror she thought _I sure hate heels, but damn if they don’t make my calves look good._ At that very thought of walking in heels, she thought it might be best to flicker to the bar instead.

Suddenly she was at the bar. Didn’t seem like anyone had arrived yet. It could be a while before they do… The bartender approached and brought her a bottle of sake. _Oh… she remembered… This might not be the best thing to be known for_. Suddenly looking around at the bar that was still rather empty, she thought about the book she was reading earlier and how she had left it on a cliffhanger… Because chapters always end on a cliffhanger… Wanting to know if the damsel would say yes to the attractive man, she placed her hands underneath the table and teleported her book here. After pouring herself a shot of sake, she took a sip and began reading where she left off.

Sometime later Anko and the rest show up, but Kakashi was not with them. When she realized he wasn’t her yet she felt a pang of disappointment. Could she actually be looking forward to seeing him? _Progress_ … She thought to herself.

“Hey Kessho, what number bottle of sake is that?” Asuma asked her

 _Well shit. S_ he thought. “This is my first and I haven’t even finished my first shot of sake.”

Asuma grabbed the shot glass to inspect it. “Looks empty to me…”

“Oh… I guess I didn’t notice.” She said putting down her book having managed to read an entire chapter before they arrived.

“Oh she’s definitely a bottle in.” He said in a teasing tone and chuckled to himself.

“So then are you going to catch up to her or what?” Anko said sassing him. “Besides, I can get behind this strategy!” Anko said while ordering bottles for the table.

 _And so it begins_ she thought to herself.

“Hey, lets all have a cheers to Kessho starting work on Monday!” Guy shouted, lifting the shot glass. Everyone joined in and drank. They all talked for a while giving her tips on things to do and things to avoid.

“Hey…. Wait a minute…” Anko narrowed her eyes trying to straighten out her vision while looking down at the book. “That’s that book Kakashi is reading! Why are you reading it?” Anko asked her peering at her.

“Speaking of which, where is Kakashi?” Asked Asuma.

“He got put on a last-minute mission, so he won’t be making it tonight. At least that’s what he said…” Answered Kurenai.

Her heart sank a little. She didn’t know if she was ready to admit it to herself yet, but she was somewhat looking forward to seeing him in a no-pressure setting.

Anko glared at her and said: “I’m still waiting for your answer.”

 _Damn… I was kinda hoping she forgot about that._ She thought while pouring herself another shot and taking it quickly. “I just saw it at the bookstore and picked it up, I thought it was interesting…” And she shrugged.

Grabbing the book, Anko looked through it, reading some random pages to herself, then suddenly throwing it at her head trying to hit her. Luckily, she was only slightly tipsy and caught it before it hit her. “Damn Kessho, if you want to get laid just let me know and I can hook you up, no need to resort to that trash!”

“No thanks, I can manage fine on my own.” She said nonchalantly trying to wave her off.

“Oh…? Do you have someone in mind?” Anko interrogated which caused everyone else in the group to tune in.

She could quickly see that if she didn’t do something, this was just going to end up being a barrage of questions she didn’t feel like answering. She poured her last two shots of sake, took them both back to back, paid her tab, grabbed her book, and got up. She went to the bar to the nearest attractive looking guy and in his ear, she purred “Wanna get out of here?” The man finished his drink and nodded enthusiastically. Before leaving the bar with the man she shouted to Anko “NO HELP NEEDED!”

 _Hopefully that’ll get her the message_ she thought. Wandering around with the man following her in silence, she looked at him with an apologetic glance and said: “Sorry!” before flickering off. Heading into a nearby store, she grabbed a bottle of wine, paid for it, and then flickered to her secret spot as she wasn’t quite ready to go home yet. That being said, she also wanted to be left alone.

* * *

The sound of the waterfall relaxed her. Yet… She kicked off one of her heels and held the point out in a defensive stance while slowly placing the wine bottle on the ground and the book. “Who’s there…? Show yourself!” She threw the heel to the cave as a warning shot and kicked up her other heel to hold it in her hand.

“Ahh!... It’s me, it’s just me, but I’m naked and I don’t know if I should come out.” It was Kakashi. Dropping her heel to the ground, she took off the rest of her clothes unsure if this would be a good idea, but the liquid courage she had earlier was preventing her from caring. She grabbed the bottle of wine and her book and walked towards the rocks. Walking behind the waterfall, she headed into the shallow cave. Once she got there she was able to see Kakashi lounging reading his book while laying on his stomach. “Oh. Hi. Do… you want me to leave?”

“No, you don’t need to.” Resting the bottle of wine on the rock, she continued “I thought you were on a last-minute mission tonight.”

“Oh, you heard that, did you?” He chuckled nervously. “I just wanted to finish reading my book.”

“Well” She responded while sitting down on the wet cave floor cautiously to as to not wet her book. “Mind if I join you? I brought some wine.”

“That sounds lovely” he beamed. Placing her book on a shallow ledge of the cave wall, she got up, grabbed the heel that had been stuck in the rock, and used it to hit the bottom of the wine bottle which lead to the cork flying out.

She sat down next to him and spoke: “I don’t have wine glasses though, so we’ll have to share the bottle.” She handed it to him for the first sip.

He graciously took it, and grabbed a sip, then placed the bottle between the two of you. “Very nice choice.” He stated. He leered at her and added, “You’re not very… conservative, are you?”

“No” She giggled while opening up her book. “You can’t really afford to be as a kunoichi. Eventually at some point it’s the best strategy to use your body to extract information. For me, it’s a lot easier to do honestly.” She could see him frown a touch at this remark. “Is someone jealous?” She teased.

“Wha-? No.” he blushed. “I just…” He closed the book and placed it on a rock that was sticking out and motioned to do the same with hers, to which she obliged. “What are you… We… Doing?”

Exhaling, she sat cross legged and laid her head against the wall and closed her eyes while he sat to face her. “I’m not quite there yet… But I’m enjoying your presence Kakashi.” she spoke cautiously and grabbed the wine bottle and took a big sip.

“So you genuinely had no idea I would be here?” He asked in disbelief.

“Not a single clue. Do you really think I would throw a heel at you if I had?” She asked. He nodded in acknowledgment. 

“What about the book?” He questioned.

“What book?” She was confused. 

“Why are you reading the book I’m reading?” Kakashi asked accusingly.

“Why can’t I just like these types of books? Gosh, Anko tried to throw the book at me when she saw I was reading” chuckling at the memory. Kakashi blushed, visibly embarrassed at assuming there would be an ulterior motive. “I see you took out all the letters I wrote to you.” She pointed out.

“Well I got curious. I haven’t read them all yet though.” He responded. A moment of silence fell between them.

Finally, she turned to face him. “Well it’s a lot of letters, I didn’t expect you to finish that quickly”

“Do you still want there to be an us?... Not now, but down the line…?” His question felt like it was something hard for him to let out.

She was starting to feel uncomfortable after expressing so many emotions, but she could see he needed to hear this, so she responded: “I was disappointed when I was told you weren’t showing up to the bar because you were on a mission. Mostly because I think I was looking forward to seeing you.” Kakashi’s face seemed to light up a little at the thought. “Now can I have my book back?”

“Huh?-Oh.” Kakashi grabbed the book and handed it to her. He then grabbed his book and nestled into the shallow cave wall. Grabbing the wine bottle, she took a quick drink and continued to read herself. 

They both read in silence occasionally taking sips from the wine. Sometimes one of them would giggle, sometimes the other would shed a tear, sometimes one would groan, sometimes the other would try to hide a subtle moan. Kakashi finished his book first, but she followed shortly after. They both quickly finished off the wine before looking at each other again.

“That. Was. Amazing!” They both shouted in unison. They began fawning over the book and somewhat talking over each other in the process.

“You know the part when”

“When she finally says yes?”

“To her going out with him, or getting engaged?”

“When she finally says yes to the other guy!”

“Oh I hated that part”

“Oh I know and she was so petty about it”

“And then when they ran into the bandits!”

“When she got mugged?”

“No when she was saving the kid from being bullied”

“Oh that was so good!”

“Oh and that plot twist at the end!”

“I KNOW! I still can’t believe that!”

“Ugh and how steamy it was…” she uttered.

“Yeah that was… descriptive…” He agreed, lost in thought and turning red.

“I like the part where he just kind of breathes into her ear while thrusting into her” She admitted while leaning towards him.

He was a little shocked by what she had just said but recovered instantaneously. He stalled for a moment contemplating whether to go along or not. “Fuck it.” She thought she heard him mumble. “I like the part where he starts fingering her under the table at that restaurant.” He told him as he got closer to her.

“Oh that part was oh-so very hot.” She whispered into his ear.

“Oh yeah?” He asked intrigued at this thought.

“Yeah…”

“Was it something like this?” He breathed into her ear as he separated her legs and slid his hand down her thigh, in between her fold and rested a finger on her clit. “Maybe we can practice, we need to make sure you can stay quiet so the other people don’t suspect anything. Think of it like… some training.” 

She nodded and went to nibble in his ear. He slowly started to tease her clit, rubbing very slowly while occasionally flicking it with his finger. She leaned in to kiss him but he pushed her back. “Nope, can’t attract attention, remember?” She pouted in protest but that was quickly remedied by him picking up the pace.

She closed her eyes and bit her lip trying her best to stay silent while being in complete ecstasy. This silver haired man knew how to do things to her. By accident, she let a subtle moan slip out. Kakashi put his finger up to her mouth and whispered in her ear again “Shhhhh… No noises… remember? Just keep your eyes closed and concentrate.” He was enjoying watching her squirm but he wanted more. Without saying anything, he moved down and shoved two fingers into her and began thrusting away. She let out a small gasp accidentally. “Shhhhh… Just give in to it without a sound.” He said in a very breathy manner and in a few moments, she came and began pulsating, but somehow managed to stay in complete silence. “Such a good girl.” He kissed her cheek. She leaned in to start to straddle him, but he pushed her away. “Now, now, always so eager. I think that’s enough for tonight.”

“Tease!” Frustrated, she got up, grabbed her book, her heel and the bottle and headed over to where her clothes were and started putting them on.

“Hey! Wait.” He rushed to put his underwear and pants on before running over to her. “Look… I let myself get carried away back there…” He began to rub the back of his neck as he does when he’s nervous. “Truthfully I just want to take things slow. I think it’s what will be best for us.”

Letting out a big sigh she dropped her heel and put them on. “You’re probably right… I got carried away too. I was just so turned on by this book…” she said ogling the book.

He let out a hearty single chuckle. “So did I.” He began to look her up and down. “Is that what you wore to the bar tonight?”

“Yeah…” She answered.

“And you were looking forward to seeing me… In that?” he leaned on one leg and pointed to her outfit.

“Umm… Yes…?” She tilted her head.

He hummed and seemed lost in thought for a moment. “Save that outfit for another time… I really like it.” He walked over to her and kissed her lips softly. “I’ll see you Monday.”

They both waved at each other and left. By the time she was approaching her house the sky had started to get a little brighter… Sunrise. She made herself a pot of tea, grabbed it with a teacup and placed it on the small table on her porch, sat in a chair, and watched as the sky began to change colors while she was sipping her tea. This was something she might actually be able to get used to.


	12. Bells

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> She walked to the transfer office and handed over her transfer papers. “Choose from those racks over there make sure you grab enough for 7 days, and don’t forget to get some items for a warmer climate.” She grabbed the sweatshirts, several of them. Instead of the flak jacket, she opted for cargo pants. For the hotter climate, she grabbed some shinobi shirts and cargo pants that cut off after the knee. “Don’t forget the shoes!” She heard the person from behind the window of the transfer office. Ughhh… Those clunky shoes she thought to herself. She’d much rather wear her toe shoes, but they were specially made and recognizable. Instead she decided to find some other shoes for rock climbing. These would be ideal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grammar no bueno. Favor de tener paciencia.

She walked to the transfer office and handed over her transfer papers. “Choose from those racks over there make sure you grab enough for 7 days, and don’t forget to get some items for a warmer climate.” She grabbed the sweatshirts, several of them. Instead of the flak jacket, she opted for cargo pants. For the hotter climate, she grabbed some shinobi shirts and cargo pants that cut off after the knee. “Don’t forget the shoes!” She heard the person from behind the window of the transfer office.  _ Ughhh… Those clunky shoes  _ she thought to herself. She’d much rather wear her toe shoes, but they were specially made and recognizable. Instead she decided to find some other shoes for rock climbing. These would be ideal.

“No thanks! I’ve got what I need.” With that she flickered into her old office. Grabbing some scissors, she decided to turn the tops into crop tops. This would allow for a little more range of motion…  _ Plus, it looks hot... _ she thought to herself. She put on a fishnet top, her cropped sweatshirt, the long cargo pants which cuffed at the ankle, and her non-toed rock-climbing shoes. Lastly she put a bandana on containing a metal plate with the hidden leaf insignia on her forehead.

Walking over to her weapon wall, she gazed at her choices. There was still the need to conceal her identity, so any signature weapons or ninjutsu were off limits. Grabbing the pouch of senbons from her bra…. She solemnly hung it up on the wall. After a moment of hesitation, she decided a few senbon hidden in her hair for emergencies likely wouldn’t hurt. 

There were so many pockets on her pants… She grabbed shuriken, kunais, rope, string, paper bombs (which she acknowledged she needed to make more of)… Now for her main weapon. Apart from her sensory ninjutsu abilities, she mostly relies on taijutsu. Scanning the wall her eyes rested on the sai that had been hanging on that wall. She was very enthusiastic when she received them to learn how to use them, but later she determined they were too bulky for her. Looking down at her new uniform… That wasn’t exactly going to be an issue anymore. She grabbed them and found a little holster where they could go perfectly. Tossing a sharpening tool in one of her many pockets, she figured now would be a good time to research scrolls. At the very least she would need one to summon Kiki and for teleporting things. Walking over to her bookcase, she wondered… She grabbed her bingo book and tried to see if it fit in her biggest pocket and… It did. Taking her bingo book back out she tried to teleport her copy of makeout paradise, but it got stuck in her cargo pant leg. “Old habits die hard…” She grumbled to herself. She unbuttoned the bottom of the pant leg, grabbed the book, and rebuttoned it after pulling out the book.

Holding up her copy of makeout paradise and her bingo book, she compared them in size.  _ THEY’RE THE SAME! _ She thought excitedly and placed them both in her pants. With that she flickered out and went to see the Hokage. Knocking on the Hokage’s door, she listened in for a response. The door was opened by a fellow shinobi on their way out.

“Ah! Kessho, come on in. It’s nice to see you in your shinobi uniform. It looks like you’ve been wearing it for years!” Lord Third beamed while she closed and locked the door behind her. There was no need to lock it, but as she thought earlier: old habits die hard. “I’ll be assigning you to the various Jonin sensei we have so you can get an idea of teaching and what to expect. After you rotate, I think I might assign you to team 10. Ino Yamanaka is there and I think you would be a good asset to the team.”

A little shocked at the things the Hokage was saying, she interjected “But sir aren’t you worried about exposure?”

“You’re smart and clever, I’m sure you can think of a way to mentor her without having her know.” The Hokage said confidently. “In between you should train. As you know you need to use other styles than what you’re used to. I see you’ve broken out your sai.”

She grabbing the sai she spun them in her hands. “I’m a little rusty.” she chuckled. “But I’m sure I can manage. The question is more about what ninjutsu to work on… We never really trained on that too much other than what could be used for espionage.”

“I see you taking notes, studying all the different jutsus you see. I know you’ll find your way, just make sure to train with a fellow jonin. Try Kakashi, he knows many different jutsu.” She blushed at hearing his name, which did not go unnoticed by him. “Taking a liking to him are we…? Make sure to take great caution with keeping your identity.” The Hokage cautioned.

“He’s simply been a good guide. A gentleman. It’s refreshing compared to what I’ve seen with the missions I’ve been on.” She lied a half lie, as all good lies are.

“Well, make sure you train, and here’s a schedule for the rotations you’ll be doing” the Hokage stated while handing her the schedule. “That will be all.” She bowed and looked at the schedule. First on the list is Kakashi. She looked at the sun position and determined he would still likely be at home, getting ready to leave.

His place wasn’t far from here, she decided to go on a jog. Speed was something she needed to work on, and she was to train after all. Out walked the silver haired man as she arrived right on time, but he was too captivated rereading his book to notice her.

“Kakashi!” she shouted in an attempt to catch his attention.

“Hm? Oh hey, what are you doing out here?” he inquired.

“The Hokage is having me shadow you and the other teaching Jonin to know what to expect. I assume so that I end up getting my own squad eventually. You’re the first one on the list.” She replied while he checked her out.

“The uniform suits you.” He commented.

“Oh, you like a woman in uniform now, do you?” She teased while elbowing his side playfully.

“Not normally, but I think you may have converted me.” He joked.

“Oh! And check it out!” She said whipping her copy of the book from her back pocket. “It fits!”

He chuckled. “I might have to reconsider my choice in uniform.”

Kurenai had just walked by and seen the two of them together. Kurenai waved and they both waved back quickly burying their heads in the books they were each carrying. “You think she thinks?” She questioned him

“I don’t know but if she does, she’ll surely let us know with a barrage of questions the next time we all hang out.” He analyzed and they both groaned at the thought.

She put her book away and pushed Kakashi’s down to look at him. He saw there was a serious look in her eyes and he put the arm with the book down while they walked to meet his genin. “I need your help.” She told him while shoving her hands in her pockets.

“Oh?” he remarked with a sly smile growing on his face.

“Not like that” She giggled elbowing him in the stomach playfully again. “I don’t actually have a lot of experience with  _ normal _ ninjutsu… Other than those… that would… fit with my line of previous work.” She told her choosing her words very carefully given they were in public.

“So then how were you able to defeat all those in your book?” He inquired. She was confused at how he knew about the bingo book and he could tell. “Sharingan. I wanted to check you out fully of course.” He smiled so hard his visible eye closed.

Chuckling she said “Of course you did. Well… Mostly with the senbons from afar, and taijutsu for up close.”

“I want to take a look at that book and see just how good at taijutsu you are.” his tone was suspicious.

“What, want someone to give you pointers?” she teased.

“If I did, I could ask Guy. Maybe you two should compete.” He smirked at the thought of it.

“Well, he is next on my list of rotations… I guess I should.” She joked, but then she got serious. “But really I could use your help. Come to think of it. I don’t even know what my nature type is.”

“Wait… Really?!” Kakashi exclaimed. “Wow… Ummm… Yeah I can help you.” 

She blushed extremely visibly embarrassed. She held her head down and wondered if she squeezed her head down enough, could she hide it like a turtle. He put her arm around her. “It’s ok… You were put through something different, and clearly you’re still an excellent ninja. I mean, how many S-Ranked missions have you been on?”

“Oh. I’ve done around 100 at least…” She mentioned without really thinking anything of it. Kakashi stopped dead in his tracks with eyes having grown wide. “What…? Is that a lot?”

“YES, IT’S A LOT!” Kakashi said while freaking out and continuing to walk.

“Oh… I don’t know how many other people do. I’ve never been on a mission with a partner before.” She contemplated.

“That’s double the amount I’ve done.” He admitted in a low voice. 

“Wait, really?!” she couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Oh, I’m sorry… I just, my pride feels a lot better now, thank you.” He put his arm around her shoulders again and she put hers around his waist and squeezed in reassurance.

“Now I really gotta see that book and see you take on Guy.” They said approaching the genin and pulled their arms to their sides.

* * *

They had both just made it to the clearing.

“YOU’RE LATE!” the kids all shouted at Kakashi. Kakashi looked at you signaling to introduce yourself.

“Oh. Hi, I’m Nakano Kessho, I’m going to be shadowing Kakashi this week to learn about the teaching process.”

“I’m Uzumaki Naruto and I’m going to be Hokage someday, believe it!” the blonde kid yelled.  _ Oh wow… that was… a lot…  _ she thought to herself.

“I’m Haruno Sakura” the pink haired girl said smiling and waving.

“Uchiha Sasuke” the brooding looking boy said.

Kakashi turned to me and instructed. “If you want, go wait up in the trees, you’ll have the best view.” She nodded and he whispered to her “Knowing how these things go, I’ll join you at some point and explain what’s going on.”

She jumped off to the nearest tree and perched. Kakashi took out an alarm clock and set it, then he took out a pair of bells. Wait… Those were the pair of bells she used to tie him up all those years ago… She started laughing so hard she lost balance and fell over with a loud thud. She shot up an arm with a thumbs up and continued to laugh until she regained composure. Once she steadied herself, she climbed the tree again, perched, and took out her copy of Icha Icha and started reading.

She noticed that Kakashi disappeared and decided to try and have some fun and try to track him with her new gear. While there was the occasional noise, she seemed to manage to stay quiet enough to where the average ninja wouldn’t notice. Kakashi however did. She decided to watch him from afar. When he wasn’t busy, he would come to her.

Shortly after the one called Naruto came out of hiding yelling something. Kakashi appeared to begin fighting with him while reading his book. Speaking of which she had hers. The idea was to shadow Kakashi, right? She took out her book and began reading. She could hear yelling in the background, but she was too settled into her book to care. Suddenly he was beside her.

“Why did you fall out of the tree earlier?” He spoke lowly.

She started to stifle some giggles and replied: “Those are the bells I used to tie your wrists, aren’t they?”

“Yeah…” He blushed. “So the idea is they have to try to take the bells from me before noon or they don’t get lunch.”

“Ahh… Well, I don’t think it’s really fair to them that you copied the hiding place of an S-Ranked ninja.” she teased quietly.

“Aha…” He whispered while lifting an eyebrow. Yelling filled the air and she saw Naruto in a trap. He sent a clone. “Let me see that bingo book.”

She hesitated at first. There’s a lot of information in here he shouldn’t know… But she also trusted him. She knew he had been Anbu so she knew he understood the importance of the secrecy. He held out his hand in waiting. After another moment of hesitation, she reached into her back pocket and switched her Icha Icha book for her bingo book and handed the bingo book to Kakashi. Deciding she wanted to study him while he read it, she rearranged her seating position to have the branch between her legs.

At first he looked at the book as if it was no big deal. Skimming it, he saw all of the X marks. “I thought you said you don’t kill often…”

“Compared to the amount of purely reconassince missions I take… I don’t, but I suppose for the average shinobi it might be considered a lot.”

He remained silent continuing to study the book while she continued to study his face. Quickly he placed the book on his lap and sent out another shadow clone before returning to the book.

“Why are some autopsy pictures instead of normal ones?” He questioned.

She folded her arms under her chest. “Because when I was originally assigned the mission, it wasn’t known who they were. Typically when that happens, they assign me the mission based on a rumor. If it is confirmed, I am to take them out depending on the threat level, so the photos were taken after the fact because the identity was not known.”

“Some of these are really old… And some of these guys I know… and were really tough.” He commented.

“That’s my S-Ranked bingo book. My A-rank is at my office.” She felt awkward… Guilty too which was something she had never felt in relation to that bingo book. She did not like the way this felt.

He stopped suddenly on a page. She leaned in to see what page he had stopped on.

“This is the man who gave you that scar?” He asked.

“It was the man on the page after, his superior.” She answered. He gave her back the book and she put it in her pocket. He hung his head and she grew anxious. Given that Kakashi was Anbu, she didn’t think he’d be so disappointed. Was he ashamed of her?

As if being able to hear her thoughts he grabbed her hand, lowered his mask and kissed it before returning his mask. Continuing to hold her hand he told her: “You are a very strong kunoichi. It would be an honor to teach you.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Sometimes you can be hard to read with that mask on.”

He chuckled. He quickly made some genjutsu signs and concentrated. “I may have gone too far… I’ll be back.” He said before dropping down. Well at least she knew he didn’t think she was a monster.

She took out her sharpening tool and began sharpening her sai. After a while she heard the alarm he set up earlier. Sitting for a moment in silence spinning her sai, she drifted off into thought.  _ Pretty rusty… I’m going to need to practice _ . She put the sharpening tool and her sai away and headed to the beginning of the clearing where the alarm clock was.

By the time she got there he was picking up his things. He looked at her “We can go now.” She shrugged and followed him. “Do you want me to walk you home?” he asked looking at her.

“Actually I was going to head to the gym. I’m a bit rusty with my sai and I’m eager to try them again. It’s been years and I remember them being so much fun.”

“I could go to the gym.” Kakashi agreed.


	13. Emotions and Shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> She had used a shadow clone jutsu to practice fighting with the sai against herself. One would work on the defensive, and the other would work on the offensive. Of course, for safety reasons, she always had the shadow clone work on defensive positions. Having sensed someone coming she threw the sai at the wall by the room entrance and held a defensive stance while her shadow clone dissipated.
> 
> “I hope that wasn’t aimed at me, because if it was, you still have a lot of work to do.” He teased. He had taken off his sweatshirt and was drenched in sweat.
> 
> “It was your warning shot” She informed him. Having changed into a sports bra and shorts just long enough to cover her tattoos, she wasn’t quite as drenched as Kakashi.
> 
> “Having fun?” He asked while taking out the sai from the wall to approach and hand to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gammar todavia esta pessimo. 
> 
> So I know some of it is a little cringe but... Kessho is kind of more emotionally stunted than Kakashi. IMAGINE I KNOW. The way she was taught to cope with being Anbu the way she is was by constantly disassociating from reality and when she was by herself in her own thoughts, she was numb. So she's heavily emotionally stunted. If that's not clear by now, then I'm sorry for the shitty writing. Tl;dr It's a little cringe, but it's because right now it's true to her character.

She had used a shadow clone jutsu to practice fighting with the sai against herself. One would work on the defensive, and the other would work on the offensive. Of course, for safety reasons, she always had the shadow clone work on defensive positions. Having sensed someone coming she threw the sai at the wall by the room entrance and held a defensive stance while her shadow clone dissipated.

“I hope that wasn’t aimed at me, because if it was, you still have a lot of work to do.” He teased. He had taken off his sweatshirt and was drenched in sweat.

“It was your warning shot” She informed him. Having changed into a sports bra and shorts just long enough to cover her tattoos, she wasn’t quite as drenched as Kakashi.

“Having fun?” He asked while taking out the sai from the wall to approach and hand to her.

“Yeah actually” She breathed heavily. “I never used to use these because they were too clunky for my style but now… They’re fantastic.” She grabbed the second and put both in the holster attached to the belt and began to admire the strength seen in Kakashi’s arms. Stepping closer to him he could feel the tension begin to build while holding each other’s gaze. Sweat was dripping from both of their bodies. Beads dipping down into her cleavage that Kakashi’s visible eye seemed to follow. They were close enough now to feel each other’s still uneven breath on each other’s skin. Kakashi began to reach out for her hand and just when his finger tip grazed her palm –

“Ah! Kessho, Kakashi tells me we must battle!” Guy said entering the room while they both took a step back from each other.

“Yeah, Kakashi tells me you’re really good at taijutsu. I’m a bit worn out but I could spar for a round.”

“Training hard I see, such is the beauty of youth!” Guy boomed.

“Well I was training with my sai, originally, but yeah sure.” She placed her both her sai on the table by the entrance, took off her shoes, and teased “Do you want me to go easy on you?”

Guy took a combat stance and said “Give me everything you’ve got”

“All right, your funeral.” She subtly made the hand sign to read his mind by mimicking an open-handed combat stance. With that trick, she would be able to see every decision Guy would make.

Guy threw the first few punches, all of which she dodged while she managed to get a punch to the gut. Anticipating a kick she ducked and used her leg to sweep Guy’s standing leg out from under him and quickly got up. Then she waited for him to get up.

“I underestimated you. You’re quick on your feet.” Guy observed.

But he observed wrong. Truthfully, she wasn’t fast. Without anticipating moves, she’s fairly slow compared to someone else her height. “I could learn to pick up the pace a little, but I know you’re going easy on me… Don’t hold back, I can take it.” Just like that Guy came at her throwing punch after punch and kick after kick. She managed to dodge most of them but a few got through. With the last punch he threw she used his momentum to throw Guy over her back and onto the floor. “I’m starting to think you like it down there Guy.” Guy got up and tried to sweep her legs out but managed to jump to avoid it only to be punched with an uppercut. She could feel the blood in her mouth and it gave her a rush as she spit it out. “Alright. My turn.”

“You talk too much Kessho.” Guy commented. She started barraging him with a few kicks, when he tried to land one on her she tumbled underneath him, jumped on his back, and held him in a chokehold. She let go after a few seconds. “Alright, alright. I concede this round. I need to reflect on this to spot your weaknesses and train harder to beat you. You have found yourself a new rival!” Guy said holding a thumbs up. Guy then turned to Kakashi and stated “She would give you a run for your money!” Guy started to walk away but before he left she did the hand sign to release the mind reading jutsu.

She placed her hands on her knees to catch her breath. “I saw what you did there.” Kakashi accused.

“He said to not hold back.” She retorted.

“So you use it like my sharingan, right?” He questioned.

“Yup” She answered. 

“And you were using a shadow clone to spar with?” He interrogated. 

“Yup.” She said straightening herself out walking to the table to grab a bottle of water.

“That way you can attack the clone and practice both defensive and offensive and when you merge you get both…”

“That’s the idea…” She started after having drank the entire bottle. “Problem is, after a while, there’s nothing new to teach yourself. You need someone unpredictable to grow any further.” She explained.

“It’s still pretty genius.” Kakashi crept up behind her and placed his mouth by her ear. “You look really hot by the way.”

“Of course I do I’m covered in sweat” she teased. “I’m gonna need ice though, that uppercut was a bitch.” Grabbing the sai, she placed both into their respective holsters and put on her shoes. They walked together to the lockers and grabbed their sweatshirts. She tossed hers over her shoulder while he put hers on. She also grabbed her fishnet top and tossed that over her shoulder.

“Come on, I have ice over at my place, you can put it on there.” Kakashi mentioned, and she continued to follow him. They walked in silence the whole way, but it wasn’t awkward, or dejected like the times before… It was comforting. They both walked up to the apartment and he unlocked the door.

It looked the same. She hadn’t been here in so long. This place that was once so familiar now seemed so distant.  _ Now _ she felt a little dejected. Kakashi went into the kitchen and grabbed ice from the freezer and placed it in a cup. He grabbed her things and placed them on the counter and moved her to sit on the couch while she obliged him. “Take this and just suck on the ice, it’ll help, trust me.” She put the ice in her mouth and sucked on it. “I’m going to go take a shower, ok?” She nodded and he wandered off to the bathroom.

Hearing the shower turn on and the door closed, she took out her sharpening tool and started to sharpen her sai while continuing to suck on the ice. She spaced out because next thing she knew he was in a towel standing in the doorway to the living room. “You look deep in thought.” He mentioned.

_ How long had he been standing there? _ she wondered.

“What are you thinking about?” he sat next to her still in only his towel but not close enough to touch.

“About how I wasn’t sure whether I’d like a more stationary life.” She confessed. 

“And?” He questioned.

“Well I’m liking it more than I thought I would… But it also hasn’t been that long since my last mission. I mostly just wonder if I’ll get antsy soon…” She admitted to herself.

He looked away from her and seemed to go deep in thought himself. “Well… This might be a little selfish, but I hope you continue to like it.” He chimed smiling so hard his eyes closed.

She wasn’t so sure though if that’s what she wanted. There was something exhilarating about going on missions, always having to be on your toes, needing to come up with quick wits, personas, being able to save people… There were boring parts… Like the waiting… Oh god the waiting! Hours standing absolutely still not making a single noise, all the bug bites… There was solace in the waiting though... A silence much like the calm before a storm. All of these things were things she contemplated while sharpening her blade before. Which she only now realized she had continued to do with Kakashi’s eyes still on her, smile having faded, awaiting some sort of comment. “I guess time will tell.” She responded before putting her sharpening tool away so she didn’t find herself spacing out again.

“Do you want to take a shower?” Kakashi asked

“Yes.” she responded quickly. Nothing like a quick cold shower to soothe the aching muscles. She motioned to start teleporting a change of clothes, but Kakashi grabbed her wrist. “Hmm?”

“I think I still actually have some clothes you’ve left here… They’re clean if you want them.” Kakashi said letting go of her wrist.

“Oh… Ok…” She followed him. 

He walked into the bedroom and she could hear him opening a drawer and ruffle through it. Walking back into the living room, he handed her a matching lace bra and panty set, a pair of shorts that were shorter in the back and longer in the front, and a sweatshirt of his.

She shook her head and held up the sweatshirt. “This is yours.”

“Not that one. That’s the one that you took. The one you would always wear anytime you stopped by, the one I would leave out for you.” Kakashi said trying to look happy, but she could tell the memories it brought, let a little sting sink into his heart.

She looked at the shirt and scanned it. There was a tear in it, a familiar tear. It was the same sweatshirt she always wore. Right there, her heart began to ache as well. Walking with the clothes she went to the bathroom and locked the door. She started the shower and stepped in and slowly sat in the tub. It felt like her wounds had reopened.  _ It’s still too soon _ , she thought. Finishing up quickly she got dressed minus his sweatshirt. Looking at herself in the mirror she saw the lace bra. It was so easy to get physical… But the emotions were still too raw… Why? Why was she like this? Maybe if she just ripped off the band-aid. Maybe if they just had sex the feelings would fall into place? Yes that had to be it. She put on the shirt triumphantly, rolled up the waist band of her shorts so they rode up her ass, and she walked out. Kakashi was in joggers, shirtless, but wearing a mask. Without looking up from his book, he contemplated out loud “I was thinking about going to get some food to go so we can eat in. That is if you want to stay for dinner.”

“That sounds good.” She said leaning on her right shoulder in the doorway and crossing her legs with her arms folded under her chest contemplating on how to best seduce him. She walked over to him, straddled him, and pushed down the book. “Hm…? Something you need?” he said calmly with a straight face and the one eye he had open was half lidded.

She cupped both of his cheeks and slowly moved her hands down his neck, caressing his shoulders, feeling all the muscles in his arms and moving to his hands. One of the hands she placed on her upper thigh and the other she used to remove the book he was reading and place it on the couch. With both her hands she slowly lowered his mask and pulled him into an endearing kiss. He was hesitant at first, so she subtly pushed her hips into him to make him give in. She moved one of his hands onto her ass and moved to kissing his collar bone occasionally adding in nibbles and sucks. “Uhhhh… What are you doing….?” He managed to say with heavy breathing.

She noticed he was still hesitating but continued and mumbled between kisses “Ripping. Of. The band-aid” Moving to kiss him on the lips to shut him up, she also started grinding into him.

He was starting to slip in and kiss back with equal intensity but after a few moments, he broke the kiss and pushed back her shoulders to create a little distance. “What do you mean ripping off the band-aid?”

Clearly, she had been defeated. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she got off of him and sunk into the couch. “I don’t know… To make the hurt stop? When I walked back in here it felt painful… And knowing that you kept my clothes for me… This shirt…?”

Looking at her he took her hand in his. “The time was working… You just need to give it more time. That is… If you want to give it more time.”

“But what if I miss going on all those missions? What if I start going on missions frequently again? What if the Hokage needs me to live that life again?” She panicked while getting off of him and sinking into the couch next to him.

“Breath. Try to match my breath.” He started taking in breaths through the nose and releasing them more slowly through the mouth. Following his breathing, she came back to it and eventually calmed down. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. Right now, all we know is that it looks like you’ll be here for a while and I want to try to enjoy it. If one of those things happens… I want to try and work through it. There’s a reason I kept those clothes… We need to just take it little by little right now.” He replied. “Trust me… There’s nothing more I would like to do than ravage you…” He said with a sudden animalistic tone while eyeing her. “But that’s not what either of us need right now.” He stated trying to suppress his… urges.

“Ok. I’m sorry, I’m just… I’m not used to having to feel things like this… I don’t know what I’m doing here.” She admitted. 

Kakashi chuckled “It’s ok, honestly it’s kinda nice to know there’s people more emotionally messed up than me”

She pouted at that comment, folded her arms below her chest and looked away. “I’m not used to this emotions shit. It was never  _ me _ feeling things… It was always the person I was pretending to be that did.”

“Give me your hand.” She hesitated while he patiently waited. She let her arms down and peered over at him. He grabbed her hand and held it on his lap and spoke while looking at it. “Trust me. I, more than most people, can understand that. I want to make this work… I mean I haven’t felt this way since…” He caught himself, and continued. “I haven’t felt this way about someone in a really long time. Before when I said I couldn’t do this, it was because I didn’t see a way to make things work. But now...” He finally looked up and turned her face to him. “I see a way to make it work now. It might fail… But I’d like to try.” He placed his forehead on to hers to intensify the gaze. “There’s nothing more I’d like than to try.” He backed away. “Now would you like some food? I’m starving.” Getting up, he lifted his mask to cover his face, put on a shirt, and held out his hand. “What are you in the mood for?”

She took his hand and stood up. “Umm... I know we are taking things slow… But I was thinking… Maybe we can have a casual dinner date? Maybe at a bar?”

He thought about it for a second… and sighed. “Well I guess I better put on something other than joggers…”

“I’ll meet you at Amai’s!”

“Wai-“ She flickered with her clothes in hand back home.


	14. Second First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:   
> When she got there, he was waiting just outside the entrance reading his book. He was wearing a plain black v-neck, loose fitting jeans, and his faithful mask. She was starting to question why he wore it almost everywhere, even occasionally including his own home. You walked into Amai’s and found it was lit up by paper lanterns. There was a main bar, some small tables with bar stools and some booths lined along the right wall. The bar had plenty of beers on tap it seemed. There was an open booth in the back. She noticed Kakashi too enthralled in his book, so she pulled his arm and went to the back booth. He finally put the book down and looked around.
> 
> “Why here?” He questioned just noticing the interior.
> 
> “It’s dim, so if Anko or one of the other’s passes they won’t notice here, it’s very casual, and they’ve got a wide selection of beer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Favor ayudar con gramática.

_ Oops _ she thought to herself. Now what to wear… She went and looked at her clothes. She found a bold red halter top with a low hanging swoop neck and sleeves that only showed the very tips of her Anbu tattoo. Pairing it with a skirt that started from her waist until it reached mid-thigh. She paired it with some fishnet tights and some low-cut boots with heels. She topped it all off with her signature red lip. She grabbed a kunai and placed it in her pockets, something she did before every ‘date’.  _ Wait… This is a real date… I don’t need a kunai…  _ she narrowed her eyes as if fighting with herself and debated on whether to keep it on her or not.  _ Better safe than sorry _ she determined. She grabbed a few other things and made her way to Amai’s. She jumped from tree to tree, to rooftop to rooftop.

When she got there, he was waiting just outside the entrance reading his book. He was wearing a plain black v-neck, loose fitting jeans, and his faithful mask. She was starting to question why he wore it almost everywhere, even occasionally including his own home. You walked into Amai’s and found it was lit up by paper lanterns. There was a main bar, some small tables with bar stools and some booths lined along the right wall. The bar had plenty of beers on tap it seemed. There was an open booth in the back. She noticed Kakashi too enthralled in his book, so she pulled his arm and went to the back booth. He finally put the book down and looked around.

“Why here?” He questioned just noticing the interior.

“It’s dim, so if Anko or one of the other’s passes they won’t notice here, it’s very casual, and they’ve got a wide selection of beer.” As if they heard, the waitress approached. “I’ll take a wheat beer” Kakashi nodded. “Make that two please, thanks!” She handed us some menus. They both quickly scanned the menus to see what they wanted, then put the menus down. The waitress came with their beers and ready to take their orders. “I’ll have Gyoza and Onigiri for the table. What do you want Kakashi?” She said smiling at him.

“I’ll take some Sashimi and Yakitori.” He said politely. She took the menus and left. Kakashi turned to her. “I brought you something.”

“Hm?” She hummed.

He pulled out some pieces of paper. “You said you didn’t know what nature type you were, so I brought some chakra paper. It’ll help determine your chakra type. Here, just hold it.” She took a sip of her beer with her right hand and then held the paper with her left, after a second or two, the paper crumpled. “Huh. Well that makes things easy.”

“What do you mean?” She questioned.

“Well we have the same nature type. So, it should be fairly easy for me to show you some ninjutsu with your respective nature. You might also have affinity for other natures, but we can find that out later.” He said while putting the rest of the chakra paper away.

“Huh… Lighting… That’s kinda funny… Ha… Haha… HAhahaha” She cracked up

“Why is it funny?”

Slamming her fist on the table and holding her stomach with the other hand she tried to calm herself. “Because I’m slow! I’m supposed to have a lighting nature, but I’m super slow?” she cackled again.

“Here.” He handed her another piece of paper. “Try again then.” Kakashi instructed. He lowered his mask and took a sip of his beer before putting it back up. She first took a big sip of her beer and looked at the rest of the bar. They were in the back corner and Kakashi was facing away from the door. She did this because she was used to being able to see the entirety of a room, and because she figured Kakashi would like to be able to lower his mask without being seen. She turned to him and smiled.  _ God he looks so good, even just sitting there… _ she thought to herself. “Well aren’t you going to try it?” He was still holding out the paper.

“Hm?” She looked down at the papers again. “Oh, right sorry… Must’ve been lost in thought” He frowned, which was fair given what she was thinking about earlier. She rubbed the leg that was crossed on top against his. “Oh not like that. I was admiring you actually. How you can look attractive to me even just sitting there.” She teased.

He blushed a bright red that she could see from the edges of his cheeks that peaked out of his mask.

“Alright let’s try this again.” She grabbed another paper, and it split in half.

“Hmmm… Like a fleeting moment, not easily contained.” He smiled until the eye that wasn’t covered by hair was closed. “Sounds like you.”

“So wind? But what about lightning?” She asked before grabbing another paper. The paper crumpled. She grabbed another. It crumpled again. She grabbed another, and it split in half.

“Woah woah, easy, easy. Take another sip of your beer before I order you some sake.” He chuckled while grabbing what was left of the chakra paper away in his pocket. She took two big gulps of her beer. “So, it seems you have two nature types. Interesting. Your main type is lightning, but it seems you have a less strong affinity for wind. How’s your chakra control?” He asked before taking a sip of his beer.

“I have to sometimes crouch upside down and stay absolutely still for hours. I’d like to think it’s pretty good” She giggled.

“Well then there shouldn’t be much more to it than that other than getting you the nature type down and coming up with some sort of attack.”

“Well I look forward to training with you.” She smiled at him and held out her hand. She knew he might not be too fond of public affection, but this shouldn’t be too bad, right? He finished his beer and took her hand smiling.

They both drank and ate as the food arrived. They both picked at eachothers plates and shared the food. At one point she tried to feed him, but they quickly found neither of them were very into it. They had some light conversation and had more beers while eating. By the time they finished eating, they were stuffed and finishing their third beer.

“Oh! I have an idea” She said with a devilish grin forming. “One bottle of sake please!” The lady surprised by the previously quiet table comes rushing with the bottle and two sake glasses. “Thank you!” She grinned widely. Kakashi was visibly confused and started wondering what was going on. “We’re going to play a game. The loser has to take a shot for every round they lose.”

“What are we going to play?” Kakashi asked with great caution.

“Rock. Paper. Scissors.” She said rather dramatically.

“Ok… I thought you’d be more clever than that.”

“Let me finish” she said slapping his hand playfully. “We’re going to play rock, paper, scissors, but we are also going to see who would win…” Then she whispered: “Reading minds, or the sharingan.”

Kakashi raised his eyebrows. “Now that… That’s interesting.”

“Alright let’s finish our beers first so we’re on even playing ground. Cheers!” They clinked glasses and both finished their beers. “Alright” She retracted her hand and sutbly placed them both under the table and made the hand sign to begin reading his mind.

_ Testing. Testing. Testing. God that’s a lot of cleavage. _

“Oh it’s a lot of cleavage now is it?” she chuckled as he blushed.

“Ok let’s get on with it before I get in any more trouble!” Kakashi huffed. “Rock. Paper. Scissors. Shoot!” Kakashi threw paper, she threw scissors.  _ Well down the hatch it goes! _ He thought as he drank his shot of sake. “Alright. Ready?” She nodded “Rock. Paper. Scissor. Shoot!” He shot paper, but this time she threw rock.

“Damn you got me! Clever thinking about paper… But now that I know that’s a strategy, it’s done.” 

“Talk is cheap, now drink up.” He said in a dry slightly mocking tone. Her eyes narrowed as she took the shot. This time she decided to hold her hand in a very loose fist to try and avoid any potential give away until the last second. “Alright. Rock. Paper. Scissors. Shoot!”

“Rock beats paper! Haha!” She sang. 

“No fair you need to hold your hand in a fist before you throw!” He whined.

“That was a fist! Now take your shot, loser!” She teased. He grumbled, but took his shot.

“Alright time to get serious. Rock. Paper. Scissors. Shoot!” Kakashi instructed.

“Yes! I win again!” She shouted while he rolled his eyes. He poured himself a shot and then drank it.

“Alright, alright. Let me redeem myself! Rock. Paper. Scissors. Shoot!”  _ Yes! Thank god! I won!  _ He thought.

She slid her hands under the table and closed the jutsu. She took the last shot. “I guess it seems we’re about evenly matched.” She analyzed.

“Yeah but it certainly made things way more FUN!” He exclaimed.

“Are you drunk Kakashi?” she chuckled.

“Why yes… I believe so.” He spoke quietly before giggling to himself. “Wait a second… Why aren’t you!” She shrugged at him. “No fair!” She moved and slid in the space next to him in the booth. Resting his head on her shoulder. “This was nice.”

She grabbed his hand and interlocked with hers. “It was. So are you ready to go home then?” He nodded, so she signaled to the waitress to bring the check.

“Can you stay tonight? I can sleep on the couch, but I don’t want the night to end.” He said with a slight desperation in his voice. She grew somewhat concerned.

“Yes of course.” She paid and handed the check back to the waitress.

“Hey wait, I was gonna pay.” Kakashi protested.

“It’s ok, just think of it as a thank you for future training.” She said as she pulled up his mask which he left down after his last shot. “Are you ready to go?” He nodded. She got up, and he went along right behind her but began to stumble a bit so he put his arm around her. They walked out of the bar together. She was a little wobbly, but Kakashi was far more so. It was a quieter night out and there weren’t many people on the streets anymore.

“I’m going to tell you a secret.” Kakashi stated.

“Oh? And what would that be?” She wondered.

“Sometimes, I’m not even rereading the book, I just know that if I pretend I am, nobody will bother me…. But most of the time I am rereading it. But shhhh ok? Don’t tell.” He held up his index finger to his mouth as he hunched over leaning into her. 

She laughed hard at that comment. “I won’t I pinky promise.” She said holding out her pinky and he joined in the promise. They arrived at his apartment. They walked cautiously up the stairs and walked to his door. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the keys but fumbled with them before finally being able to open the door. She helped him sit down on the couch and grabbed him a glass of water and placed it before him. “Drink up.” She commanded sitting next to him.

He grabbed the glass and was toying with it, but his eyes were serious and staring off into the distance. “Why me?” He said.

“Why you what?” She asked.

“Why are you pursuing me now? Why not anyone else? Why did you even tell me all that stuff that night?” She could tell these were questions that had been bothering him for a while. Truthfully these weren’t things that she had given much thought. All she really knew was that it felt right… But she also knew that answer wouldn’t do much to get these pessimistic thoughts out of his head. She needed something more substantial if she was going to help pull him out of this.

“That night I saw an extremely good-looking man go into that pond. I saw your Anbu tattoo and I knew you would understand me, but I told you those things because you were easy to talk to.”

“So because I was there.”

“No. I mean… At first yes, but on our date…” Kakashi hung his head so she continued quickly cupping one of his cheeks in her hand. “I learned what a kind soul you are, and how thoughtful you are. You’re so much more to me than just some man that was there.”

He shook off her hand and put the cup he had been fiddling with on the table. Then, he proceeded to put his face in his hands. “You don’t know all of the terrible things I’ve done. You don’t know what’s happened because of me.”

She placed her hand on his back and started making circles trying to soothe him. “I don’t.”

“You haven’t even asked me.” He groaned.

“Because I understand more than anyone that it’s hard to talk about. I just figured you’ll tell me these things when you’re ready. I can wait. I’m not going anywhere.” She reassured. “And Kakashi, you’ve seen my bingo-book…”

“No! It’s not the same. I’ve lost people I love and it was my fault!” He yelled. 

“Kakashi… That first night I came in, and the way you took care of me. The way you asked before every move you did, the way you were so delicate, the way you were the most caring man I’ve ever met, and for caring sake… A man like that couldn’t deliberately do what you’re saying. Even if it were true, you seem to have been punishing yourself all this time. Haven’t you suffered enough?”

He seemed to be deep in thought but a little more at ease.

“Hey, look at me.” She demanded, he obliged her, and she placed a soft gentle kiss on his forehead. “I want to try us too.”

His face lit up. “Really?” He smiled.

“Yes really, now let's get you to bed.” She helped him to the bedroom and helped take off his jeans and slip into some pjama pants. She took one of his sweat shirts, put it on and took off her skirt and stockings.

“You have a really nice butt.” he mumbled which made her giggle. She helped tuck him in and then walked to the other side of the bed herself. She cuddled up to him and wrapped her arm around his stomach and nestled her face into the back of his neck. They both slept soundly through the night.

The next morning the alarm went off and they both groaned. Kakashi sat up rubbing his head while she was mostly fine. He seemed lost in thought again and just when she thought about saying something, he spoke: “Did you mean everything you said last night about me?”

She wrapped her arms around him and in his ear she whispered: “Every word.” She finished by kissing his cheek. They both got up, got dressed and went to meet the young genin after having some eggs for breakfast.


	15. Leaving again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:   
> “Those three are going to be quite the handful for you.” She giggled.
> 
> Kakashi groaned “Yeah… But they show promise. Even that knucklehead Naruto.”
> 
> She decided to test the waters. “There’s more to it than that isn’t there?”
> 
> “You know, sometimes I forget how perceptive you really are. You hide it well by keeping everything in your head and analyzing things just based on what you see.” He didn’t seem to want to answer.
> 
> “What can I say, I’m that good.” She teased trying not to push any further.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That grammar do be bad tho.

They went on the rest of the week going on D rank missions with occasional training. After everything was completed, she would go to the gym to train with her sai. It was the end of the week and she was walking with Kakashi to the gym. He didn’t go with her as he preferred to train at home, but he accompanied her there.

“Those three are going to be quite the handful for you.” She giggled.

Kakashi groaned “Yeah… But they show promise. Even that knucklehead Naruto.”

She decided to test the waters. “There’s more to it than that isn’t there?”

“You know, sometimes I forget how perceptive you really are. You hide it well by keeping everything in your head and analyzing things just based on what you see.” He didn’t seem to want to answer.

“What can I say, I’m that good.” She teased trying not to push any further.

“Ah would you look at that! Young love blossoming right before my eyes such is the glory of youth!” Guy boomed.

“Wha-?” Hearing Kakashi’s reaction she shot a disgusted look at Guy.

“Young  _ love _ ? How can I fall in love with someone if I’ve never even really seen their face?” She commented.

“Well I suppose you’re right. It also just so happens that I was looking for a challenge! Who better to show up than my two rivals!” Guy gave them a thumbs up with a toothy grin. 

“Oh well that’s odd Kessho was just telling me how she was eager to fight you again.” Kakashi smirked evily.

“Was I now?” She turned to him with a fake smile. 

“Yup, that’s what you told me! I’m so excited to watch the fight.” He beamed.

“Well… Lets go.” She sighed giving in. 

They all headed up to a sparring room and she took off her cropped sweatshirt, her mesh shirt, and the holster that held the sai. She grabbed some bandages and wrapped her wrists and hands and took off her shoes. This time she decided to not use her ability… She wanted to practice her reflexes which meant not being able to anticipate his attacks. This was going to hurt.

“Alright let us have round two of our mighty rivalry challenge and prepare ourselves to battle!” Guy exclaimed.

She crouched a little before him and they began to dance around each other, both waiting for each other’s moves. Deciding to throw the first punch, Guy grabbed her arm and flipped her down on the ground. While interlocking the arm he grabbed, he wrapped around his leg that was now on her back placing her into a hold. Then she used her core to thrust her legs forward to swipe her leg underneath the one that wasn’t on her back and quickly jumped up to recover which Guy followed soon after.

“Your reflexes are slower than last time. Are you not feeling well Kessho?” Guy boomed but with concern. Instead of responding she does a double kick where she misses the first one intentionally and lands the second one. “There we go my dear rival! That’s the intensity I seek from your youth!” Guy attempts a jab but she dodges it, traps his calf between her legs, twists and lands him on the ground and in a hold. Despite this, Guy pushes himself up one handed and the sudden change in balance catches her by surprise causing her to stumble before she finally catches her stance.

Starting to get frustrated and starting to feel the heat rising in her face, she slaps herself in a weak attempt to get herself together. In that moment she was facing a perfectly skilled opponent. An expert in his own right in this area. Yet, she’s faced many of the same before and she felt inadequate, and slow… So slow… She lunged a punch into his stomach which Guy held onto, twisted her body throwing her on the ground and quickly pinned her and held his forearm to her throat while having both knees on her arms. She’d been had.

“Fuck!”

“No need for language Kessho, you were a formidable opponent but your reflexes were slower, are you getting sick?” Guy asked as he helped her up.

“I guess I must be…” She smiled trying to hide her embarrassment.

“I’m going to go meet with my student Lee who mentioned wanting to get extra training in, and I never say no to extra training!” Guy said before he left.

She started to remove her bandages and looked at Kakashi, waiting for him to comment. “Why did you not use it this time?” he asked.

“I wanted to see if I could win without it. I’m rusty though. I’ve relied too much on that ability and I’ve grown weak.” She fumed.

He laughed. Laughed? Was he laughing at her? “I think you’re underestimating how good Guy actually is and thus how good you are. It might do you good to study him when you rotate with him next week.”

“That’s not it.” She confessed.

“Hm…? What do you mean then?” He inquired

Walking over to the sparring room door, she locked it. They were the only two inside and what she needed to say next involved needing privacy. She led him further away from the door, towards the center of the room to avoid anyone eavesdropping and explained in a low voice: “Kakashi, when I get sent out on missions, I get sent out alone. If I lose, then that’s it. I’m done. Nobody else is going to come for me or save me. I can’t afford to  _ not _ be the best.”

When the severity of what she was saying sank in, his expression changed. His eyebrows raised and his expression saddened. “I see.”

“I’m not saying he isn’t good. He’s obviously the best person I’ve fought… But I  _ need _ to be better.” She finished explaining, so she walked to the door, unlocked it, and opened it.

“Hey, come here.” Kakashi motioned to her. When she approached him, he held her in a warm embrace. “I’ll protect you and be your back up whenever I can.”

She reached up to his warm pink cheek and held it in her hand “Thank you.” She broke the embrace and walked over to grab her sai.

“Are you heading out?” She asked him.

“Yeah I think so. But before I go… Did you want to get some dinner tonight maybe?” He asked a little hesitantly.

“Oh I would, but I already agreed yesterday to meet up for drinks with everyone at Fugumasa Tennoji. Why don’t you tag along?” She replied.

“Oh uh…” He hesitated. 

“You don’t have to… It’s ok…” She tried to reassure him.

“I’ll think about it.” He said.

“Ok.” She smiled at him as Genma walked in.

“So are we doing this or what?” Genma asked. She had found him sparring by himself earlier this week, so she asked him to spar together all this week.

“Yeah” she told Genma. She took one last glance at Kakashi, “I’ll see you around.” Kakashi nodded before heading out the door. Turning to Genma she said “Are you ready for a beating?”

“How about loser buys tonight?” Genma proposed.

“I didn’t know you were so eager to spend money.” She teased.

“So is that a yes?” He retorted.

“A girl never turns down a free drink.” She answered and he scoffed in return.

They both sparred for over an hour, but she had managed to pin him around 4 times without reading his mind. She was better with the sai it would seem. Genma had managed to pin her once though, to which she could’ve sworn there was a sly smile when he did. They were both drenched in sweat by then with intensity in their gazes. Genma lunged an attack at her to which she crouched to dodge and swept her foot underneath him and she threw her sai next to his head.

“You really need to stop falling for that one.” She told him.

“Maybe I just like the view from down here.” He marveled.

She scoffed “OK. I might need to look for a new sparring partner” She remarked as she picked up her sai.

He propped himself up with an elbow and met her gaze. “Why’s that?”

“I need someone who’s going to take this seriously. Now get up, I think pinning you five times is enough to warrant my free drinks.” She replied.

“Well I did pin you once…” He said as he got up.

“Yeah only because I was distracted!” She whined. 

“I could say the same thing” He flirted.

Genma was an attractive man, he had amber colored shoulder length hair and deep brown eyes. A senbon rested between his lips that on occasion he played with while giving a devilish smirk on the strong wide jaw that framed his face.

“I’m going to go. I want to get ready before drinks tonight.” She told him.

“Alright, I’ll see you there.” He waved as he watched her leave. 

* * *

She walked into the bar in a black swoop neck dress with sleeves that had the sides of her stomach cut out while hugging her curves and reaching mid-thigh. With it she wore ankle boots and a rosy pink lip with simple eye makeup. She saw Genma and waved, and Anko was here too whom she sat across from. Anko was sitting next to a man with a scar that ran across his face from one cheek to the other over his nose.

“Kessho, this is Iruka, and you know Anko.” Genma introduced her while motioning. “Now, what will you be having?”

“Get me a bottle of sake please.” She asked politely with a smile.

“Sure thing.” He said getting up by placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you on a date with Genma?!” Anko giggled.

“No, no, it’s not like that. He lost a bet/sparring match today, so he has to buy my drinks.” She chuckled.

“Ooooh ok… If you’re sure. He’s single you know.” Anko continued dropping hints.

Genma came back with his beer and her bottle of sake and sat down next to her. “So tell me Kessho, what do you like to do for fun?”

“Oh you mean other than kick your ass?” She sassed.

“Oh so you like kicking my ass?” He countered. She scoffed.

“Kessho likes reading those books that Kakashi is always reading.” Anko chimed in.

“Is that so…?” he said intrigued.

She poured herself a shot of sake, drank it, and slammed the glass down on the table. “Yup. I think they’re great.” 

“Well you’ll have to show me it one day.” He flirted.

“We’ll see.” She teased.

They all chattered over work for a while, enjoying their drinks.

“So how’s it been following Kakashi around this week?” Anko teased. Genma seemed intrigued by this information, maybe even a little irked?

“It’s been fine. His students are going to be quite the handful for him.” She commented.

“How is Naruto doing anyway?” Iruka asked.

“He’s very enthusiastic, but he  **really** needs to learn some patience if he’s going to grow.” She answered.

“I can’t wait to mess with them all when they get to the Chunin exams” chimed Anko.

“So you’re following Kakashi around?” Genma asked, seemingly still stuck on that.

“Yeah, what of it?” Kakashi asked, walking behind her, beer in hand, to sit in the chair next to her.

“Hey, you made it!” She exclaimed while pouring herself a shot and drinking it.

“Woah, Kakashi actually came out to hang? This is a shocker.” Anko stammered.

“Hey, I came out last week.” He objected with his half-lidded eyes.

“Yeah but damn... two weeks in a row? I don’t think that’s ever happened.” Anko argued. Kakashi ignored her and simply sipped his beer.

“Would you like more sake?” Genma asked while getting up.

“No, I think I’ll switch to some wheat beer. Thanks.” She smiled at him.

Genma leaned down into her ear and whispered, “I must say, you look absolutely ravishing.” Feeling the heat of his breath on her ear her cheeks turned as pink as the lipstick on her lips which made him grow a sly smile on his face.

She turned to Kakashi, and saw he wasn’t amused, almost seemingly unfazed. She nudged him with her shoulder. “Thanks for coming out.” she smiled.

“He’s buying you drinks now?” He asked plainly… wait… with the ever so slightest hint of jealousy? That didn’t seem like Kakashi, so she disregarded the thought.

“It was a bet. I kicked his ass at the gym earlier.” She said while taking her last shot from the sake bottle.

“Man, you sure love to brag, don’t you?” Genma asked sitting back down on her other side and placing her beer before her.

“It’s not really bragging… More like stating the facts.” She teased and rubbed her leg against Kakashi’s under the table.

“Well what can I say, I enjoy being pinned down by a beautiful woman.” He shrugged. Anko was writhing with joy and excitement of these interactions. To try and diffuse the situation, she started to make more small talk with Anko. Kakashi rested his head on his fist and listened in with minimal effort while Iruka and Genma formed their own conversations. All the while she was trying to interlock her leg with Kakashi’s underneath the table.

Upon finishing her beer, she said, “Well I think I’m going to head out and call it a night. Thanks for the drinks Genma.” She got up and gave Genma a kiss on the cheek and waved goodbye to everyone.

Shortly after walking out, she felt Kakashi coming up behind her. “Can you stop by my place first?”

“Yeah sure.” They walked in silence and arrived shortly as this _ was _ the closest bar to his place.

Once they got inside, she took off her heels and sat on his couch where Kakashi joined her at the opposite end.

“He likes you, you know.”

“Kakashi if I couldn’t tell I’d have no right being even ranked genin... Does it bother you?” she asked with a little concern.

He stayed silent for a long time, but she kept waiting patiently for an answer. After another long moment he sighed and begrudgingly admitted, “A little.”

“Kakashi, I’m doing it because I know that you want us to take things slow, and I do too. I also don’t want Anko and the others to get any ideas before we even fully commit ourselves. Plus we avoid a lot of questions this way which is something neither of us want.” She explained. “And... Genma is a good looking guy, and I’m single-ish and if I don’t respond to him, all of them are going to know something is up which is not what we want.”

He contemplated as it sank in. It seemed he was trying to determine the best way to minimize his vulnerability that he’s feeling. “I guess I didn’t quite think you’d be…”

“So good at putting up a front…? Kakashi…” She took his hand. “It's what I’ve literally been trained to do my entire life.”

“I guess I’m just having a hard time trying to figure out what’s real with you…” He stated.

“Honestly… Sometimes so am I.” He retracted his hand having been made anxious by her statement. He had tensed up and there was a slight furrow in his brow, he was still trying to hide his emotions. “Kakashi…” She said trying to get him to look at her. “Kakashi please…” He hesitated, but looked at her after a moment. “Kakashi you are the one thing in my life that I truly know is real. Everything we have had is real.” The tension in his muscles dissipated slightly and the furrow in his brow relaxed. He slid over and rested his head on her shoulders and she rested her head on his.

“There was one thing Genma was right about though…” Kakashi confessed, breaking the silence.

“Oh? And what was that?” she questioned.

He lifted his head enough to put his mouth to her ear to say “You do look ravishing in that dress.” The heat from his breath sent goosebumps all over her body and she moaned ever so lightly. She looks over to him and places one of her hands on his cheek about to kiss him but, she sensed someone.

They both look to the balcony and see a man standing there with a black uniform and silver protective gear on top complete with a bird mask. The man was Anbu. She got up and walked outside to the balcony while Kakashi waited on the couch. She walked up to the man and asked “What do you have for me?”

“You are to meet with the Hokage first thing tomorrow morning.” The man with the mask instructed. She nodded in response after which the man disappeared. She could feel Kakashi watching her every move as if she suddenly might disappear too.

Walking back over to Kakashi, she said “I have to meet with him tomorrow and I’ll probably get an assignment then. If anyone asks what happened when I’m gone, I want you to tell them I’m just off on a solo mission. Ok?”

He nodded, stood up off the couch, and quite literally swept her off her feet. He looked stern and she worried about what he might think now that she’s about to be assigned another cover operation. He placed her to sit on his bed and removed his headband that was covering his sharingan. Before when he would use it, it was to memorize everything about her. Every hair in its place, every curve, every scar. She moved to grab his hand in hers, but he simply got on top of her. She used one of her hands to trace the scar on his eye, which caused him to close it. There was a gentleness to her when she did it, a reassurance that he is accepted wholly. He opened his eye again and lowered his mask. She too started to try and memorize every scar, every curve from his muscles, that birthmark beneath the left edge of his lips. There was so much longing, tension, caring, and… Loving felt between them. Any heartache there was left over seemed to be set aside for now, if it were to ever return. All that mattered to them there in that moment was each other.

He slowly pulled back to remove his vest, shirt, and undershirt/mask. She sat up and pulled her hair forward to which he slowly unzipped her dress as he placed gentle kisses on her neck. Standing up, she removed the dress and then laid back down before him. He straddled her placing his calloused fingers gently on her waist moving upward slowly on her curves moving up her chest, to her neck and resting them on her cheeks. Hunching over, he placed a firm yet gentle kiss on her, one full of longing that was meant to try to make every second feel like an eternity. She kissed back with haste, not wanting to waste a single second while letting her hands roam his body, making sure that no part goes untouched. Breaking the kiss, he slowly moved to kiss down her neck which caused her to let out a subtle moan. Beginning at her neck, moved down to her right collar bone, her right breast (kissing over her lace bra), down the right side of her waist, her hips thighs, calves. He then moved up to begin kissing her right hand, up her arm, her shoulder, her neck, and her cheek to meet her lips again. She kissed him back deeply arching her chest towards him wanting to have as much over her skin touching his as possible. He broke the kiss to cover her left side with kisses to make sure not to leave any part untouched, taking care to spend extra time at the scar he recognized the most from so long ago.

With this she leaned up to remove her bra and let her bare chest hang, he in turn removed his pants and began a warm embrace. Both with wandering hands both gripping each other tightly, hoping to meld into one another and kissing each other with the passion and intensity that would only happen to two in love who don’t know when they will see each other again. Their hot skin touching the tighter their embrace, letting out exasperated moans because it never felt close enough.

She broke the kisses to press her forehead against his “Kakashi… I need you…” she moaned.

“Now?” he breathed.

“Yes. I need you…” she cried in desperation with a single tear rolling down her cheek. He quickly removed his boxers and her lace thong without breaking their gaze.

He rested on her as if asking permission. She nodded and held him close, with their mouths at each other’s ears. He entered her slowly and as he did he moaned in her ear “I love you Kessho...”

She wrapped her legs around the back of his thighs and helped slowly push him in as deep as she could muster. “I love you Kakashi…”

At first the pace was slow, gentle, and loving. Both of them with their hands in each other’s hair, holding tightly pressing into each other, letting out soft moans. Once they broke the rhythm to press against each other’s foreheads with their gaze meeting in such an intense manner, the pace began to pick up to match that intensity and passion they both felt. The longer their gaze lasted the more passion and intensity grew, and thus the quicker their pace went. The moans became moans filled with lingering desperation, desperation to want to have their bodies achieve ecstasy in unison, but also desperation for this feeling to last forever. Only one of them was shortly reached. They both finished with a long hard kiss and rolled together so they were resting on their sides still in that intense gaze. Both had their hand on each other’s cheek as if to make sure neither broke it just yet as their breathing slowed.

Another tear rolled down her cheek and she closed her eyes, breaking the gaze. “Was it too soon?” Kakashi asked with concern in his voice.

“No. No. No.” She turned her head to kiss the hand that was on her cheek. “Not like that at all. It’s a mix of utmost happiness from this, and… Just not wanting to leave you again. I want this… Us… To still be here when I get back.”

He kissed her soft lips gently, just a touch, then pressed his forehead against hers. “I’m not leaving Kessho. Not again. Not ever.” She lowered herself and nestled into his chest to sleep, not wanting to let him go.


	16. Tsukuyomi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt: 
> 
> “You are to deliver this letter to Uchiha Itachi. You will make minimal contact and not reveal yourself. We do not know his whereabouts, but we suspect he has not ventured too far. You are not to engage in combat, nor do him any harm. Once the message is delivered, you are to return immediately. You have three days to complete this mission. Do you understand these instructions as I have given them to you?” Lord Sarutobi asked.
> 
> “Yes.” She replied and grabbed the letter. “I will leave at once.”
> 
> “Very well… And Kessho, do be careful. Do not underestimate him.” He cautioned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grammar bad, hopefully writing good.

When she woke up she noticed they hadn’t moved at all. She very carefully and slowly moved to not disturb him, which she managed to do successfully. Teleporting her Anbu uniform, she put it on to then search through Kakashi’s desk to find some paper, ink, and a pen to leave him a letter.

> _My Dearest Kakashi,_
> 
> _I just wanted to write you goodbye. You looked so peaceful still sleeping and I know you don’t get enough sleep as it is, so please don’t be mad at for me not waking you. Last night was magical… I’ve never felt so close to someone. My heart no longer aches, Kakashi. All my heart wants is to be filled with you, and only you._
> 
> _We always did love having our little bubbles. Protecting our relationship from the outside world, making sure our love was kept secret. It was enticing, so powerful and enthralling. Every moment when we were finally together was one of ecstasy. Yet we only behaved that way because, at the time, it was necessary._
> 
> _I know Anko can ask a lot of questions. And Guy can be a little overbearing… And I like to keep my private life private as much as you do… But maybe we don’t have to hide so much anymore. Maybe we can at least let it be known that I belong to someone and you belong to someone. Just think about it. I don’t know if I’m ready yet myself for all of it. But maybe someday…_
> 
> _All my love,_
> 
> _Kessho_

She folded the paper in thirds and placed it on the pillow he wasn’t resting his head on. With that she perched at his window and made her way quietly to the Hokage's office.Once at the Hokage’s window, she waited for Lord Third to open it. Once she did, she walked into face Lord Third. “You summoned me.” It was more of a statement than a question.

Nonetheless he answered. “Yes I did. I hope you’re heading my warning about your involvement with Hatake Kakashi.”

“I am and I would appreciate it if you would stop sending Anbu to follow and spy on me. You really think an ex-Anbu can’t detect them? It’s reckless and risks my cover.” Truthfully she just wanted the privacy, but it was starting to annoy her and get excessive.”

“You know, do you?” The Hokage’s eyes narrowed at her. “Yes… Of course you know. Very well. I will order all of them off. It seems you are adjusting nicely anyways. Now onto the matter at hand.” She nodded awaiting instructions. “You are to deliver this letter to Uchiha Itachi. You will make minimal contact and not reveal yourself. We do not know his whereabouts, but we suspect he has not ventured too far. You are not to engage in combat, nor do him any harm. Once the message is delivered, you are to return immediately. You have three days to complete this mission. Do you understand these instructions as I have given them to you?” Lord Sarutobi asked.

“Yes.” She replied and grabbed the letter. “I will leave at once.”

“Very well… And Kessho, do be careful. Do not underestimate him.” He cautioned.

She nodded, approached the window and left making her way to the old Uchiha clan village. She summoned Kiki. “We need to see if we can find something with a left-over scent from Itachi.” She doubted anything would be found, but it was the first logical place to start. Walking over to the old Uchiha home, she went in search of Itachi’s room. When she found it, many of his things were still there, untouched. She found a desk, nothing but research on it. Grabbing the papers she rummaged through them, trying to find patterns, interests, trying to find something that would indicate sights he would want to see, places to visit, people to learn from.

Meanwhile, Kiki was sniffing throughout the room, trying to find even the faintest of scents. “Not turning up much, huh?” She said as Kiki continued to sniff around. Kiki placed two paws on the second shelf of the bookcase and started sniffing up. Dust had mostly covered the room, but there was a spot that was clean… Where dust wasn’t as thick, because there was a book that had been in its place. The book was in between ‘ _History of Konoha’_ and ‘ _Ancient Legends’_ , curious… She picked up Kiki to help her get a better scent.

 _PBST_ Kiki sneezed, so she placed her on the ground. Kiki looked up at her. “Give me a minute. I want to do a more thorough search before leaving so we don’t have to come back if the trail runs cold or someone came in and stole the book.” Kiki sat and watched her. She didn’t think that someone else came in due to lack of disturbance, no. The room was entirely untouched with the exception of that book. She got lucky. Glancing over the papers again she determined there was no discernable pattern. Mostly seemed like old homework? Must’ve been Sasuke’s. She looked around some more but there wasn’t anything distinctive.

He was Anbu… Likely knew how to hide things… She started testing the floorboards, she stood on each one until… There! She lifted the floorboard under the desk and peered inside. Inside she found an old Anbu mask, a uniform, some equipment, and… A sword. She grabbed the sword and teleported it. _I’ll give it to Sasuke next time I see him._ She thought.

She continued checking the rest of the floorboards. She looked at the bookcase… It looked like the area around it was undisturbed…. But under there is where she would hide things. She decided to move the bookcase. Pushing down on the floor boards, she heard a creak. Pulling up the floorboard, she found plain black notebooks. _Must be his own research_ she wondered. She sat and flipped through them. They’re about the history of the Uchiha family, and about the sharingan. _Madara… Hmmm… It seems Itachi was seeking this person._ She thought to herself.

It didn’t look like his research was going to lead her to a place too far from here. This seemed to be the only promising lead. She teleported the books back to her office and turned to Kiki.

“Lead the way.” Kiki flickered out of the room and she followed. Quietly they traveled through the trees occasionally passing an unsuspecting traveler on the way. Night had long fallen, so she signaled Kiki to stop. “Is it much further?” She asked Kiki. Kiki simply stared at her, which usually meant yes it was. “Alright we will rest here.”

She crawled to where the branch met with the trunk and rested her back against the trunk. She then turned to Kiki and said, “You keep first watch.” Kiki crawled up to her and sat down next to her. Kiki had pointed triangle shaped ears that stood up. The ears that were normally in a relaxed stance pointing slightly to the sides and offset, now faced forward, alert. She closed her eyes and slept for a few hours before waking up again and letting her dog rest.

She thought about the letter she left Kakashi… She hoped that he wouldn’t be too distraught by not having said goodbye. But the quicker she left, the quicker she could return… Right? She thought about the ‘I love yous’ they told each other and how they made her feel. Just the thought of it brought butterflies to her stomach. Even though she was away from him, she felt protected. _No. Stop. You’re on a mission and you need to be alert_ she fought internally while shaking her head.

Could Madara be the same from the initial creation of the leaf village? No, that wasn’t possible. He’d be long gone. Itachi must be chasing ghosts… Some hidden remnant, or gift of his power. It was easy to see that he carried his most updated research with him. She continued on with this train of thought until sunrise. She pet Kiki softly to which she awoke and sat up awaiting for her command. She then perched and said “Let’s go.”

They changed direction slightly, which was good as this indicated the scent was indeed leading to a target that is capable of moving. They didn’t reach the end of the scent until around noon. She saw the target from afar and signaled for Kiki to go home. Itachi was wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it and was in a small clearing with a man, but both were frozen in place and neither were moving. She moved to face him to get a better look. When she did, she saw that he was using his sharingan, but from the position she was in… It looked to be a different sharingan. _What is this…?_ She went and hung upside down from the branch to get a better look and…

Suddenly the world changed. Almost everything was black… Except the sky, that was red. Red like blood… Like those eyes. She was standing far away but no longer hanging from a tree. She was standing on the ground, facing him.

“Who are you?” He snapped. “Why couldn’t I detect you?”

“I mean you no harm. I’m here to deliver you a message from Hokage Sarutobi. I was instructed not to engage. I got caught in your jutsu, I’m sorry.”

Unknown man was in visible agony, his screams pierced her ears… But she knew better than to get involved. Her ears were suddenly covered, and she was unable to move. Itachi continued to torture the man, she tried to look away, but she was paralyzed in place, forced to watch everything. He did everything from shoving toothpicks underneath his nails, to 1,000 cuts. She could tell he was being interrogated, but she was too far to make out what their lips were saying.

“I do have a deadline… And I’m sure you don’t want reinforcements sent your way.” She shouted to Itachi.

He uncovered her ears to say this: “3 days in here is merely three seconds out there… You have nothing to worry about.” He smirked.

 _Guess there’s nothing left to do but to keep waiting._ She thought to herself. The torture was getting to her though. She knew he kept her watching as a warning. To show his own strength, and what could happen to her if she crossed him. There was never any intention to do that, but the idea of this power shook her to her core.

Finally, they were released, she hid behind the tree away from Itachi and made a couple shadow clones and dispersed them to surround him while still hiding in the trees.

“You’re very good at concealing yourself I must admit. Where is the message?” Itachi asked.

One of the shadow clones jumped down before him. She reached into the slit in her skintight shirt and pulled out the sealed letter to hand to him. Itachi took the letter.

“What is your name?” He tried to question. 

“I think as a former Anbu agent you know better than to ask me that.” She retorted.

“Very well. How did you find me? I’d like to keep my whereabouts hidden.” Itachi negotiated.

“You visited your old home to grab a book around a couple months back it would seem. I also found your notebooks underneath the floorboards under the bookshelf. I saw you were searching for someone or something, so I knew you would be on the move… It also didn’t look like you were venturing very far.”

“I’m impressed at your thoroughness.” He commented.

“I kept the research. In turn I won’t include your location in the report. Even if I were to, the Hokage is the only one who views them.”

“And the people in the archives…” Itachi digressed.

“ **The Hokage is the only one who views them.** ” She repeated with emphasis. He narrowed his eyes.

“Very well. That’s a fair trade I suppose as long as they are for yourself.” He said with a sly tone.

“They are… I don’t get to be this good without knowing and researching my enemies.”

“Oh, we’re enemies, now are we?” He questioned with curiosity.

“Not today.” She reassured.

He opened the letter. “Well it would seem my baby brother graduated from the academy and is now genin. How nice.” He smirked.

“I also found your old sword with your Anbu uniform… I was planning on giving it to him saying I found it on one of my missions…” She mentioned. He seemed slightly pleased at the thought.

“Is that all?” He asked.

“That is all.” She said and merged with the shadow clone while the real one was still behind that original tree.

“You’re very clever. If we do become enemies one day… I think you’ll make a worthy opponent in battle.” She heard him say as she trailed away.

She rushed home as fast as she could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like Itachi.


	17. More Pancakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> She woke up the next morning around sunrise with Kakashi curled up behind her. She decided to get up and make some tea. Her favorite, Honey Vanilla Chamomile with an extra tablespoon of honey. Once the kettle sounded, she poured the hot water over the tea bag and stirred in her extra honey. She grabbed the sweatshirt of his that she loved and put them on along with some underwear. Taking her tea outside, she sat down to stare at the sunrise. It was peaceful, nobody was out yet making noise, the birds were singing, and there was no rush about worrying when the next mission assignment would arrive.
> 
> She contemplated and realized that she liked living here. Having a home. Not having to continuously camp, or stay at inns with no real place of her own. She wasn’t entirely yearning for the next S-Ranked mission either. And yet… She knew she would never quit as long as she kept receiving assignments. She was the sole shinobi that could do what she knew how to do, and do it so well. It was her job to do her part in protecting the village, and this is how she knew how. These were the skills she was designed to use. It’s not like the Hokage was assigning these missions just because.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grammar Bad.

She wrote up a small report saying that she was able to find him based off of a scent at their old house, his power, and that he was found in a black cloak with red clouds. While also adding that he had received the letter, remained unharmed and the location is undisclosed.

“Why undisclosed?” The Hokage asked.

“To avoid further conflict my lord.” She answered.

“I see. Did he read the letter in front of you?” He asked.

“Yes. He was trying to conceal his emotions, but he seemed slightly pleased. May I go home now? It feels as though I haven’t slept in 5 days.” She unintentionally begged. 

“Yes, yes, you are dismissed.” He signaled her to leave through the window.

Running on fumes, she made it to Kakashi’s place. She wanted to see him, but mostly she was so exhausted, and his place was closer. She found the usual window unlocked and let herself in. She undressed entirely and got under the covers. It was only sunset, but as soon as her head hit that pillow she was out.

She woke up the next morning around sunrise with Kakashi curled up behind her. She decided to get up and make some tea. Her favorite, Honey Vanilla Chamomile with an extra tablespoon of honey. Once the kettle sounded, she poured the hot water over the tea bag and stirred in her extra honey. She grabbed the sweatshirt of his that she loved and put them on along with some underwear. Taking her tea outside, she sat down to stare at the sunrise. It was peaceful, nobody was out yet making noise, the birds were singing, and there was no rush about worrying when the next mission assignment would arrive.

She contemplated and realized that she liked living here. Having a home. Not having to continuously camp, or stay at inns with no real place of her own. She wasn’t entirely yearning for the next S-Ranked mission either. And yet… She knew she would never quit as long as she kept receiving assignments. She was the sole shinobi that could do what she knew how to do, and do it so well. It was her job to do her part in protecting the village, and this is how she knew how. These were the skills she was designed to use. It’s not like the Hokage was assigning these missions just because.

“Hey…” Kakashi said leaning on the doorway of the balcony.

Looking up at him she reached for his hand. “Hi” She smiled. “There’s more tea in the kettle if you want some.” She said before turning back to the sunrise and sipping her tea. His hand slipped away and she heard him go into the kitchen to get some. When he came back, he pulled a chair to sit next to her.

“Are you ok?” He asked with concern in his voice.

“Yeah I’m fine I just hadn’t slept in 5 days.” She responded nonchalantly.

“Kessho… You were only gone for two.” He stated growing more concerned.

“I got caught up in a genjutsu. It’s ok though, it wasn’t meant for me. I negotiated and everything went very smoothly. I even managed to get my hands on some pretty valuable research.” She smiled at him and grabbed his hand and placed it on her lap to hold before taking another sip of tea.

“You sure you’re ok?” he insisted on checking. 

She put down the mug of tea on the side opposite of Kakashi and turned to look at him. “I’m fine, I promise. Now let me feel those lips of yours” She said while lowering his mask. He placed his tea mug on the railing of the balcony, moved one hand behind her neck, and pulled her into a passionate welcome home kiss.

“Welcome home.” He beamed.

She grabbed her mug of tea again and took another sip before saying: “I see the both of you are happy to see me” She chuckled.

“Do you blame me?” He teased.

“No…” She took one hand and used her fingers like legs and crept up towards the hem of his pants. Running her fingers against the hem and his skin, occasionally lifting and picking the hem up just to drop it back down.

“You’re such a tease.” He chuckled.

“Oh, am I?” She questioned before finishing off her tea. He quickly finished his tea as well, but before he could answer she grabbed both of their mugs and ran off to put them in the kitchen sink as she knew he would follow her. And just as she predicted she felt strong hands on her thighs pushing her big round ass into his boner.

“You know… I’m not too fond of teases…” Kakashi growled into her ear.

“Oh?” She moaned.

“But what I do like to do is punish them” He growled even deeper.

She bent over to rest her chest and arms on the counter before her, but placed her head on her palm and turned back at him. Her ass now pushed deeply into his boner. “Is that so?” she said daringly.

He separated himself and gave one hard slap one her right ass cheek that she knew was going to leave a bruise. Yet all she could do was let out a loud moan. She pushed her ass up against his groin and switched from standing on her tiptoes on her left leg, then lowering and standing on her tiptoes on her right leg and moving in a perfect rhythmic motion. She felt him get harder as he let out a moan.

He breathed in through gritted teeth, grabbed her hair and pulled her up. “Was that one slap not punishment enough?” He whispered in her ear.

“That was punishment?” She asked, toying with him. She loved to see him squirm over her and that deep animalistic growl he let out when he heard her question made her so. Very. Wet. He dragged her by the hair back to the bedroom and she couldn’t help but giggle in excitement the whole way.

He pushed her when letting go of her hair and commanded: “Strip.” Strip she did, taking off the sweatshirt but not before feeling her breasts on the way reaching down to the hem of the sweatshirt while biting her lip. She then turned on her heels, put her thumbs through the elastic of her thong, bent over to slowly remove her underwear. She heard Kakashi growl and before she knew it he picked her up and threw her on the bed. He rummaged through a drawer and pulled out some silk rope.

Her eyes widened as she let out some eager giggles. He tried to grab her wrists, but she kept pulling them away while holding her devilish grin. Kakashi started to grow a little frustrated. Then he decided to summon up a shadow clone to help. “Oh well hello...” She sang as she waved at the new Kakashi. The original Kakashi quickly used the distraction to grab her wrists and tie them to the bedpost. The other now trying to grab her ankles to do the same. After the original Kakashi finished with her wrists, he went to help the new Kakashi with her ankles. He then cancelled the jutsu. “Aww… You’re no fun…” she whined.

He went and rummaged again through the dresser and he pulled out a belt. “Stop whining” He said straightening out the belt so tightly it made a noise. His eyes narrowed... Suddenly he put a finger between her slit and felt around. “Well. Well. Well. You’re absolutely dripping” She bit her lip in a sheepish grin. He then used the belt to slap her inner thigh and she let out a subtle moan. “The safe word is pancakes. If your mouth is otherwise occupied, can you tell me with your sensory abilities.”

“Yes sir.” She responded with a serious tone.

“Good… Now for your punishment… I think I’ll start with ten. You’re going to count them out loud each time I hit you. If you forget or miss count the number, I will hit you an extra two times. Do you understand?” Kakashi said while trailing the belt along her skin.

“Yes sir.” she giggled.

He slapped her inner left thigh with the belt. She breathed in through gritted teeth and let out a moan. “One.” He traced the belt for a little bit looking at her in the eyes. Her gaze was sinister and he could tell she had something planned. The sound of leather hitting skin filled the air. “Two.” He did it again. “Three.” And again. “Four” And again. “Five.”

There was something up and he could tell. Her gaze was too sinister for her to just obey. And he was right. She was just waiting for the right time. He began stalling, trying to figure out what game she was playing, just tracing the leather against her skin. And  **smack** as he hit her inner right thigh. “Oh? You call that a hit? You’re losing your touch Hatake.”

It irked him. She never called him that before, but the idea of how he could try and tame her was enthralling to him. His eyes grew full of lust and her devilish grin grew larger. He picked up her underwear and stuffed them in her mouth. “Now you’ll just have to be punished in silence.” He said as he smacked both of her inner thighs with the belt painting her skin red. She was chewing…? On the underwear. Kakashi could see she was up to something again, but he couldn’t tell what. He smacked her inner thigh again. And Again. He looked up at her and she managed to curl the panties enough into a ball to spit at him and hit his face.

“It’s going to take a lot more than that to shut me up.” She challenged with her eyes now having that same sinister look her smile did. He dropped the belt rushed on top of her and placed a hand on her neck and squeezed. He squeezed just enough to feel the pressure, but not enough to cut her breathing. He could see the rush she felt when he did that so he ran his hand down her chest, stomach, down to feel just how wet she was.

“You’re oozing…” He growled.

“Jealous?” she managed to get out in a raspy but teasing tone. He seemed to have had enough. He didn’t think he was going to be able to win this round and his mind was way too clouded with lust for him to think straight. So instead he took off his boxers, straddle her and returned his hand around her neck. With his free hand, he lined himself up, and plunged into her without a second thought. “Oh- Kakashi…” she moaned while she squeezed her walls to get a good grip of him, not wanting to let go.

“Mmmm… Say it again.” He commanded, but she stayed silent. He took himself out completely and slammed himself back in.

“Oh-Kakashi.” She whimpered. He started to pick up a slow steady pace, thrusting in and out of her while she continued to squeeze her walls. He leaned into her and started grunting in her ear.

“Say it again.” She stayed quiet with the exception of escaped moans. He tightened his grip around her throat a little and used his free hand to slap her face.

“Mmmm Kakashi…” She purred. “Make me cum…” She dared him with a raspy voice. He let go of her and picked up the pace while she started squeezing as much as she could.

“Fuck Kessho, you’re so tight.” He grunted.

“I’m close, make me cummmm...” She managed to get out between moans.

He went as fast as he thought he could and a moment later she came, her walls tightened and pulsated which caused him to cum as well. As they released their final moans, he slowly pulled out of her. Using the escape jutsu, she undid the rope and collapsed down as he collapsed next to her.

“You’re a pain in the ass you know that?” Kakashi told her while trying to catch his breath. 

“I can be a bit of a brat.” She laughed. He turned on his side to face her resting his head on his palm. 

“A bit?!” he scoffed. “I’ll get you though. I’ll figure it out.” He seemed to be trying to convince himself. 

“Maybe you just need more practice.” She teased.

“Oh really?” He leaned over and kissed her cheek lightly.

“But first I was actually hoping for you to train me.” She asked finally having caught her breath.

He groaned and asked “How about we go out and get some breakfast first?”

“Like out in public…? On a date…?” She asked, confused.

“Yes. I read the letter you sent and thought about it. I don’t want to hide it anymore either, but I’d also rather avoid the questions. So let’s see how long we can go without them asking questions, ok?” He smiled that close eyed smile she loved so much.

“Ok, I’ll get dressed.” She told him. When she got up she walked over to the bathroom and saw that her shinobi uniform had been washed and was waiting there for her. She felt so loved at the sight. She put on her clothes and stepped out of the bathroom.

“Ready?” Asked a dressed Kakashi.

“Yeah lets go.” She nodded.

They walked out of the apartment and headed down the road. Kakashi grabbed her hand and interlocked it with his. The town had just started to bustle people walking and young kids running around playing in the streets. She wasn’t sure where they were going, but it seemed that Kakashi had an idea in mind. They turned the corner and on the left side of a street was a small café. She leaned into him as they walked and turned into their designation. They both found a small table near the back. After ordering some tea, toast, and a hard boiled egg when the waitress came they had small talk about Kakashi’s students and how busy they were keeping him. She held his hand over the table and he would occasionally rub her leg against his under the table. They both laughed. It was light, and simple. Kakashi paid for the check and they soon headed to the training grounds.

On their way there, they took a leisurely stroll. This time they didn’t hold hands, but they were close enough to feel the back of their hands brush up against one another from time to time. They noticed a few glances their way, but nothing that gave them any amount of concern.

“Kakashi -sensei!” Naruto yelled. They both looked at each other and nodded. “Wait up!” They quickly flickered their way to the training grounds as they knew Naruto would be the first to blurt out anything about Kakashi being in a relationship.

“Ok so what exactly were you thinking of doing?” Kakashi asked.

“Well… I want to use my sai as a lightning rod.” She replied while taking out one of her sai and spinning it.

“Ok, that should be simple enough. First let's get you to make some lightning in your hand. You need to think of it as physically changing your chakra energy. So first pull up a little chakra, and then change it’s type. It helps if you think of sparks, or little bursts of light.”

She closed her eyes, pulled out her palm, and moulded up some chakra. Then she concentrated on feeling the chakra and how it moves in her hand. Once she could feel it, feel every last portion of it slither in her hand, she started to imagine it as sparks.

“See? Easy.” He said smiling with his eyes closed. She looked at her hand to see some sparks flying around. “Alright so now you’re going to want to imagine that lightning extending beyond your hand.”

She closed her eyes again and imagined the lightning extending out from her hand.

“YEEE AHHH” She opened her eyes and Kakashi was on the floor. “Maybe next time don’t close your eyes and try not to hit me…” He said with his hand behind his neck while he was sitting up with his elbow.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” She quickly stopped the chakra flowing up from her palm and helped Kakashi up.

“Well either way you seem to be getting the gist of it. The idea from there is to simply extend it on to your sai.” Kakashi said slowly, stepping back until he was a good two meters away.

She grabbed her sai, took a defensive stance. Then she imagined the chakra forming around her blade and then the chakra turning to lightning. Once she saw it forming on her blade, she threw the first one, spun and threw her second to the training stump in the center. She went and approached the stump and Kakashi followed.

“Very nice.” He commented, staring at the now burnt wood. “The good thing about doing it this way is you won’t have to use a lot of chakra to do some real damage.”

She pulled her sai out from the stump. “Well this is easier than I thought it was going to be…”

“Well you already have really good chakra control, so it was just a matter of knowing what to do from there.” He shrugged

“Well that’s a shame, I was enjoying having you as my teacher… Kakashi-sensei…” She teased.

“Oh… I think I kind of like that…” He wrapped his hands around her lower cheeks and pulled her in while she let out a small moan in response. She moves her hand to start to remove her mask-

“Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto yelled. They both instantly separated. “Wait… What were you two doing just now?” He asked.

“Oh, Kakashi here was just teaching me something and I mastered it quickly, so he gave me a hug to celebrate.” She explained. Naruto’s eyes narrowed.

“What do you want Naruto?” Kakashi asked with an already worn out tone.

“Oh-right. Well I just wanted to say hi but you guys ran off, then it turns out we were headed to the same place!” They both let out a quiet groan at Naruto’s response.

“Well we were actually finishing up here so I guess we will leave you to your training.” She told him, starting to already walk away.

“Wait what?! But you guys just got here! How can you be done training already! I don’t believe you, now I know you two were up to something!” Naruto exclaimed.

“Well when you get to be a high level jonin like me, it’s easier to catch on to things.” She explained.

“Plus, she’s an excellent student and actually pays attention.” Kakashi added, both of them still continuing to walk away.

“No fair maybe if you taught me something more interesting, I’d be more willing to pay attention!” Naruto shouted.

“Tell you what Naruto, I’ll teach you a special technique next time. Anbu level stuff.” She told him before waving goodbye. “Oh, can we stop by my place and then take me to Sasuke’s place? There’s something I have for him.” She asked Kakashi.

“Sure thing.” He said grabbing her hand and interlacing their fingers. Her house wasn’t far from the training grounds, so they got there shortly. She got out her keys, opened the door, and went in. He waited out on the porch while she rummaged around. A minute later she came out with the sword in her hand. “Ready?” He asked to which she nodded.

They walked silently on their way to Sasuke’s place. She looked at the man she was with, truly. How the light reflected off of his messy silver hair, how he stood a whole head taller than her, how he held such a laid-back demeanor while she knew he was plagued and tormented by his own thoughts.  _ How could I have gotten so lucky? Finding this man who might be one of the very few to know all that I have been through and understand it without question.  _ She thought to herself.

“We’re here.” He snapped her back to reality.

“Oh.” She mumbled and knocked on the door. A moment later the door cracked open.

“What do you want?” Sasuke asked his demeanor sounding eerily similar to Itachi’s.

“I found something on my mission that I thought would suit you.” She smiled. He opened his door so that all of him was visible.

“What is it?” He asked. She handed him the sword. There was a slight smile on his face. “Thanks.”

“Just be careful. It’s really sharp.” She patted his head. “Have a good evening.” She waved while walking away, she could head the door close shut shortly after.

When they got out of range Kakashi spoke: “I recognize the original owner of that sword. Do you really think it was wise to give that to him?”

“He clearly didn’t recognize it, and I think it should stay in the family. Besides… I think there’s more to this story than is being led on.” She acknowledged.

“So then that’s who you met with?” He asked and she nodded. “And that genjutsu?”

“It wasn’t geared towards me. They were… Dealing with someone else. They simply made me watch… As a warning.” She explained.

“I see… Well I’m glad that’s all it was.” He smiled and took his arm in hers. She hadn’t noticed but he was walking her back to her house.

“Do you have something else to do today?” She questioned.

“I do. It’s something I’d rather do alone…” He said dejected.

“I understand.” She replied while walking up the steps of her porch. She slid down his mask and kissed him gently. She wanted to reassure him, although she didn’t know what he was going to do, she knew it was going to cause him heartache. After the kiss she met his eyes and said “If you need me, at any time tonight, or early tomorrow morning… I’ll be here. Ok?”

He nodded, kissed her hand, readjusted his mask and left.


	18. Hot Shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> “You look tired already. You sure you’re up for it today?” He asked.
> 
> “Yeah I just figured that I’d give you an advantage by tiring myself out.” She teased and he scoffed. “Before we start though, I need to tell you something.”
> 
> “Hm?” Genma hummed.
> 
> “I’ve grown particularly interested in someone else… I’m sorry. I just wanted to be upfront with you.” She admitted. He looked a little bummed and hurt.
> 
> “Well who said I was into you like that anyways?” He scoffed.
> 
> “Ha. Ok you’re right, my bad. Guess I just think I’m hot shit.” She said playfully. “Now let’s start this.”

He didn’t show up that night, but the next day was her week of rotation with Might Guy. She headed over to the training grounds where they were to meet and spent the day sparring, showing the students different taijutsu moves. When she had finished with the training, she went to the gym to meet up with Genma. She knew she was going to need to talk to him beforehand, she didn’t want him to get any hope that this was going to go somewhere. 

When she got up to the gym she quickly found Genma waiting outside their usual sparring room. She went to the table at the entrance and placed her sweatshirt and the fishnet shirt on the table.

“You look tired already. You sure you’re up for it today?” He asked.

“Yeah I just figured that I’d give you an advantage by tiring myself out.” She teased and he scoffed. “Before we start though, I need to tell you something.”

“Hm?” Genma hummed.

“I’ve grown particularly interested in someone else… I’m sorry. I just wanted to be upfront with you.” She admitted. He looked a little bummed and hurt.

“Well who said I was into you like that anyways?” He scoffed.

“Ha. Ok you’re right, my bad. Guess I just think I’m hot shit.” She said playfully. “Now let’s start this.”

They went ahead and sparred for about two hours and Genma did manage to pin her more than she could pin him today. It irked her, but she was already exhausted from sparring with Guy earlier.

“Drinks later?” Genma asked.

“No, nothing but a cold bath for me today.” She complained while wincing at her soreness. “I’m shadowing Guy and he’s hell bent on sparring with me as much as he can this week, so I think I might need to take tomorrow off.”

He laughed. “You’re sparring with Guy? No wonder you arrived here exhausted. I’ll let you off the hook but you’re buying my drinks on Friday night, got it?”

“Yea, yea.” She groaned, grabbing her clothes and then walking out slowly wincing after every step she took. Once she was in a corner hidden away, she started to quietly jump and make her way to her spot. The spot wasn’t a hot spring, and now that fall was approaching the water would be particularly cold, which is just what she needed right now.

Once she finally made it to the clearing, she undressed, still wincing from her sore muscles. Slowly she stepped in and began to float in the water. The water caused goosebumps all over her skin, but the cold numbed the pain from her muscles. She closed her eyes and floated. Just let the water move her, letting go of all there was around her.

She suddenly heard the leaves rustle, yet she didn’t move to remain unfazed. Whatever it was, it was ways away. She began listening in deeper, hearing a slight thud of feet touching a branch still some ways away. Then, she began putting out feelers, listening into the surface thoughts of the surrounding area, but immediately stopped. Her silver haired man was making his way there. Wandering thoughts of what he could be doing drifted through her head. She could hear him resting up against a nearby tree.

“Enjoying the view?” She asked him.

“Well I’m a little disappointed that now there’s bruises on your skin that aren’t mine.” He teased.

“Ughhh don’t remind me. You’d think with how often I do dangerous things I could bruise a little less easily.” She groaned and heard him undressing.

“I like that you bruise easily. I like marking you as mine.” He said with a deepened voice as he was getting in. He walked to her and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her in the water and turning her around to face him, which is finally when she opened her eyes to meet his. He kissed her deeply with such profound care only to finish with a shudder from the cold water. “The water is cold, isn’t it?”

“That’s why I’m here. My muscles are sore, and I knew the cold water would help.” She explained as she wrapped her legs around his waist nestling her head into his chest.

“Mmmm… I know something that can make you feel better.” Kakashi moaned in her ear.

“As much as I would like too, I’m too tired for anything.” She said

“I could do all of the work…” He offered.

“No, I’m just too sore.” She whined.

“Ok, we can just float.” He squeezed her tighter as he shuddered, as if trying to extract her warmth. They stayed floating for a while, eyes closed in silence simply enjoying each other’s warm embrace. As the air got colder, she could feel Kakashi’s shivers occur more frequently.

“Kakashi you need to get out.” She commanded.

“Why?” He asked, breaking the embrace taken aback.

“You’re getting too cold. Let’s go back to my place, it’s closer.” She said.

They got out and she was right, Kakashi wasn’t quite right, but not yet hypothermia. She used her sweatshirt as a towel for him and got him into his clothes, she then put on her cargo pants, and her sports bra and stuffed part of her clothes to hang from her pants while she helped Kakashi back to her place.

When they got there she placed him on the couch and gave him some blankets along with her copy of Icha Icha. Once she knew he was settled in and warming up, she put on the kettle to make tea.

“What kind of tea do you want?” she offered.

“What do you have?” he asked.

“I have all kinds, what do you want?” she countered.

“Black tea.”

“Except for that one. Sorry.” 

“Peppermint?” He chimed.

“Yes I have that.” She informed him.

“Mmmm… I love peppermint.” He hummed as she finished making his tea, she brought it over to him in a mug for him to hold and warm up. He looked so content in his little blanket burrito with his tea and her book… She simply pulled up a chair and watched him for a bit. It took him a while to notice her, but when he did he asked: “Why are you looking at me like that…? All smiley…”

“I just like seeing you happy.” She beamed.

“You know what would make me happier **and** warmer?” He asked playfully.

“What’s that?” She asked, playing along knowing the answer full well.

“Coming here and joining me under this blanket.” He smiled that big smile she loved so much. Holding out his arm to hold up the blanket she snuggled into him. She looked at the book and then at him.

“Read to me.” She said quietly.

“Wha-? R-read? Um…” Kakashi uttered clearly getting flustered.

“Why are you so flustered? It’s not like I haven’t read the book before.”

“I suppose… Bu-but” He mumbled. She grabbed the book from him.

“I’ll read then.” They both leaned back and sank into the couch while Kakashi enjoyed his tea and she read to him while they both fell asleep on the couch.

The rest of the week was spent mostly sparring with Guy and Genma and then arriving home exhausted pouring herself into an ice bath. It was finally Friday and she hadn’t seen Kakashi since they found each other at their spot. She wondered if Kakashi would be coming out tonight… Either way, she got dressed in a red empire waist dress and wore red heels with black lace on them and a bold red lip to match. With that she flickered into town and walked the rest of the way there. It was starting to get chilly at night now and she regretted not bringing a jacket, so she rushed into the bar where Guy, Asuma, Anko, and Kurenai were waiting. She waved to them and sat next to Anko.

“Hey Kessho! How’s your week been?!” Anko exclaimed.

“Ask Guy!” She huffed.

“Ah yes we had a wonderful week of nothing but sparring and teaching taijutsu to teach the younglings! Kessho is an admirable opponent and won against me quite a few times! She’s improved her reflexes greatly!” He beamed.

Genma sat down in front of her and chimed in, “Yeah and then she came to try and spar with me. She wasn’t as lucky facing me though.”

“Oh hush, you only won because I was tired after facing Guy.” She said begrudgingly.

“And that’s why I want you to go get me a pitcher of beer.” Genma commanded.

“Yea, yea, I’m going.” She got up and ordered a pitcher and a bottle of sake from the bar. She saw Anko leaning towards Genma. _Oh no… She’s gonna try and set Genma and me up_ she thought. She walked over to sit back down at her place.

“Kessho, why did you turn down Genma?” Anko asked immediately. She placed the pitcher and glass in front of Genma and sat down with her bottle of sake to look around trying to find something, anything, that would save her from answering this question.

“So Kurenai, where should we meet on Monday?” She asked trying to pretend she hadn’t heard anything.

“I believe Anko asked you a question.” Kurenai mentioned with a smirk full of betrayal. But as if he were her own little angel, Kakashi came through the door.

“Oh look Kakashi’s here!” She said slyly. Given how rarely he comes out, everyone turned their eyes to him and quickly forgot about the question they were awaiting the answer to. Kakashi sat down next to her and stole a shot of her sake.

“Guess you’re paying for two guys drinks tonight, huh Kessho.” Genma commented.

“It would sure look that way.” She poured herself a shot for herself and one for Kakashi, then held it up to the middle of the table. “Cheers!” She could feel the slight burn going down her throat, but the sake here was the smoothest she’s had.

“So Kakashi, why are you all of the sudden coming out with us now…?” Anko narrowed her eyes at him.

“Well I guess the path of life has suddenly started leading me here.” He said in that same nonchalant tone he always gives his excuses in. She noticed everyone groan at his statement. She gently kneed his leg, to which he kneed back. He poured himself another shot along with one for her and they clinked glasses and took the last shot in the sake bottle.

Kurenai was watching her interactions with Kakashi intently, but luckily Anko, who was about 5-6 shots in, hadn’t been studying them the same way.

“So Guy, how was it this week with Kessho shadowing you, she’s a feisty one, isn’t she?” Kakashi asked.

“Oh yeah she’s filled with that fight in her and our score as of now is 3-4 with her in the lead. Maybe you should watch us spar tomorrow so you can see how our rivalry has bloomed!” Guy exclaimed. She buried her head in her arms on the table and let out a soft groan.

“Oh I’d love to watch you two spar, but I’ll be pretty busy tomorrow so maybe some other time so I can watch?” Kakashi said in attempts to save her.

“Sounds great! I guess Kessho and I will just have to spar without an audience tomorrow.” Guy said with a thumbs up. She groaned again.

Picking her head up and facing Kakashi, she mumbled “Thanks for trying. So Asuma, how’s your team going?” She asked.

“They’re doing well. Quite the eager bunch. Except Shikamaru… He’s… Anything but eager.” He chuckled.

“And yours Kurenai?” She asked again.

“They’re… An odd bunch. But they show great promise.” Kurenai answered.

“Anko, what do you… Do exactly?” She asked.

“Oh I work on torturing their students during the chunin exams.” Anko said giggling.

“Now see that actually sounds entertaining.” She admitted.

“I also work with the chunin exam stuff. I think it’s way better.” Genma interjected. Guy was not happy hearing this and he was into his 3rd shot.

“Now you listen here there’s nothing more precious than being able to motivate the youth to be the best that they can be…” Guy rampaged as she tuned them out looking to Kakashi.

“You’re awfully quiet.” She said in hushed tones.

“Just enjoying the company.” He mumbled to her with a big smile on his face. She got up to go order another bottle of sake. When she sat back down, they were still arguing over whether having a team of genin or torturing during chunin exams was better. She placed the bottle in front of the two of them and poured herself a shot, he followed, and they took the shots together.

“So how’s your week been?” She asked him.

“Oh you know… Just your usual D-ranked missions.” He said pouring himself another shot and taking it.

“That bad huh? Are you ok?” She asked.

“Yeah I’m fine, but I feel like this group is going to be a group that somehow always manages to find themselves trouble…” He grumbled. _He’s right. I’ve only been with them a week and even I can see that…_ she pondered.

“Well if that’s true then it’s a good thing you’re their sensei. You know how to handle a handful.” She teased.

“I still need more practice.” He teased right back.

“Well aren’t you two getting chummy!” Anko blurted.

“Or maybe I just can’t get into a fight about whether chunin exams or teams are better because I’ve never done or had either!” She challenged.

“Ooo I’m starting to see that feisty side you were talking about Kakashi!” Asuma laughed. “Now Kessho, tell us another one of your Anbu stories!”

“Anbu stories?” Kakashi said intrigued but also concerned.

“Relax, I don’t say anything of importance. Have a little faith that I was a good Anbu operative Kakashi.” She said with a little annoyance in her tone. “Alright I might need a minute to think of one and edit it in my head.” She said while pouring another shot and taking it. Everyone stayed quiet waiting for her story. “OK, I think I got one.” She slurred a little. “I was assigned to find this one guy and lure him to a drop off point. So, I went into town looking for the guy. Went into all these bars, all these shops looking, and I couldn’t find him ANYWHERE, right? So I go and I see this nudie bar. I change my outfit to dress up like one of the dancers, I go and wear these itty bitty booty shorts, and this bodice and a cowboy hat with some rope, heels, fishnets, the whole nine yards looking like a cowgirl. Low and behold there the dude was getting a lap dance. So I went in after the girl was over and boy did I give him my own lap dance, the dude was _drooling_.” She laughs. Everyone waits for her to finish laughing to continue the story. “So then I go and I get. Kakashi come on move so they can see you”

“Uh- Wha what?” He stammers while she moves him to straddle the bench they were sitting on and have him face them. “I don’t wanna-“

“Shhhhh…” she then straddles him, raises her breasts to his face, then whispers sweet nothings into his ear. She then plops back to her place and continues “See how red his face is? I did that. By then the guy was willing to follow me around like a puppy dog, so I convince him I have this fantasy of being fucked in the forest nearby so I can yell as loud as I want and have nobody hear me. Can you believe the dumbass believed me?!” She laughed again. “So, we get to the forest and I lead him to the drop off point. So now I’m thinking about how I’m going to get the rope on him. So, I tell him that I’m into kink and I tell him I want to tie him up. At first, he’s really hesitant, so I push him onto his knees and start pushing against his chest with my heel, Oh the dude totally starts getting a hard on right then and there. So, then I tie him up and convince him that the anticipation of waiting is part of the fantasy. So, I leave him tied up at the drop off point, all tied up without ever actually having to do much of anything.” She poured herself another shot and one for Kakashi and they both drank.

“Oh man that sounds like so much fun!” Anko fawned. Asuma had been laughing throughout most of the story. Kurenai and Anko started talking about ways they could seduce men which caused Genma and Asuma to start listening in.

“Did that really happen?” Kakashi leaned in to ask.

“Yea it did.” She took the last shot of sake. She grew somber.

“Are you ok?” Kakashi whispered to her.

“Yea I just… I had to go through a lot of bad missions to get to a fun one.” She groaned.

“Maybe we should head out.”

“Yeah I think that’s a good idea.” She got up, “Hey guys, I’m going to go ahead and head out.” They all groaned.

“Why are you leaving so soon?” Anko whined.

“I’m just tired, especially after these two.” She motioned to Guy and Genma and put on a convincing smile. She waved goodbye and headed out the door. The cold hair hit her and sent goosebumps down her spine. Slowly memories from past missions came flooding back. Why was this happening? She never had these issues with her memories before… She began shivering and hunched over for both the cold and the pain she was feeling. Shortly after she left, Kakashi caught up to her.

“Hey, are you ok?” He asked her.

“No.” She’s never had to answer that before. Normally she’s able to hold everything down because those were just characters, or personas she had to play. They weren’t _actually_ her, so they didn’t _feel_ like her. This was the first time those memories felt like they were hers. He placed his arm around her and pulled her into him. Without saying anything they both headed back to Kakashi’s place.

When she got there she found herself curled up at the very edge of the couch, trying to stuff herself into any comfortable corner she could find. Kakashi stood in front of her but her gaze was staring off at nothing in the distance. “What do you need?” He asked.

She was silent for a moment before answering, “Can I have some tea?”

He went to the kitchen and started some hot water on the kettle, then he got a blanket and put it over her body. Kakashi then disappeared into what she can assume was his bedroom. When he came out, he placed her favorite sweatshirt and some of her underwear on the coffee table in front of her. Without realizing it, she was changing right there in the living room. It’s as if her body was running on instinct to change clothes.

The sound of the tea kettle snapped her out of it. She looked over to Kakashi who was bringing her a mug of tea. It smelled of her favorite and managed a slight smile. He sat down at the other edge of the couch and pulled her over into him. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked gently.

“No.” She said bluntly.

He kissed her forehead and answered, “Ok.” The rubbing motions on her back Kakashi was doing soothed her, but hauntings from her previous missions stayed with her and kept her up, even long after Kakashi had fallen asleep.


	19. Anbu again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> “You are to meet with the Hokage immediately.” She nodded in response and with that the Anbu soldier vanished. She went inside and found one of her shinobi uniforms and changed into it. Before leaving, she looked in the mirror only to realize she still had on all the makeup from the night before. She washed her face and found a sticky note and left a short note for him telling him she went to meet with the Hokage. Before leaving, she stuck the note to his chest.

The next morning an Anbu soldier was waiting on the balcony. She had only slept a few hours but got up to address the soldier. Quietly opening the balcony door and closing it behind her, she faced the soldier. The soldier was shrouded in a cloak and mask that covered them resembled a cat with green stripes. She looked into their eyes and saw the same eyes she knew she had every time she put on her own mask.

“You are to meet with the Hokage immediately.” She nodded in response and with that the Anbu soldier vanished. She went inside and found one of her shinobi uniforms and changed into it. Before leaving, she looked in the mirror only to realize she still had on all the makeup from the night before. She washed her face and found a sticky note and left a short note for him telling him she went to meet with the Hokage. Before leaving, she stuck the note to his chest.

* * *

She knocked on the door and walked in.

“Ah Kessho.” The Hokage said as she locked the door. “Good to see you come so quickly. Now I have something of utter importance for you. You must spend a week in the village of the hidden sound gathering any form of intelligence you can. You can skip your rotation with Kurenai this week, I will inform her you have been sent on a mission under jonin but this mission is Anbu. We are planning on inviting them for the chunin exams and I want to know more about them before we extend our offering. Anything will be of importance or value. This is purely a reconnaissance mission and you are not to engage of any sort… Even if you see someone from your bingo book. I want you to intermingle with the village, as well as study from afar. You can leave at nightfall. Is everything understood?” Lord Sarutobi finished. She nodded in response. “Alright then you are dismissed.”

She bowed and left to head back to Kakashi’s.

* * *

“Oh-you’re back. I wasn’t sure if you would be back soon or not.” Kakashi mentioned as she entered the apartment. “I was just about to head out to do some errands… Unless…” He started with a nonchalant tone, but ended sounding concerned.

“Oh I’m fine. Just didn’t get much sleep. I won’t be leaving until tonight.” He walked over to her to take her into a warm embrace. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tight and kissed the top of her head.

“Still having thoughts?” He asked. She nodded in response. There was a numbing feeling that felt all too familiar that started to come back to her. The one she knew before Kakashi, the one that allowed her to complete all these missions. “How about we go do something to take your mind off of things?” She nodded again. “They made the book make out paradise into a movie, it’s just out today. I bought tickets for a date but we don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

“They made it into a movie?” She asked feeling like this might be just the thing to help her snap out of it.

“Yup, and I got the earlier showing too.” He smiled that smile with his eye closed that she loved so much.

“Ok, but I’m not dressing up.” She grumbled. He chuckled.

“How about we go on a walk before our date?” He suggested. She nodded in response. When they walked out into the busy streets, he placed a hand on her waist to pull her in close. They walked in silence. She could tell Kakashi wanted to say things to console her, but he wasn’t quite sure what to say. More than likely he often struggled himself to pull himself out of these types of spirals, so how was he supposed to help her? They continued to walk until they found themselves at the cemetery. “Uh… Sorry about that. Whenever I wander… I always find myself here…” Kakashi explained.

“It’s ok.” She coos as she tries to reach his gaze, but it was fixated on the stone in front of them.

“Well, I wasn’t sure when I was going to do this, but I suppose now is as good a time as any.” He crouched as if to meet eyes with the headstone. She simply stood with her hand on his shoulder. “Dad, I’d like you to meet Kessho.”

Shocked, she let out a small gasp and crouched alongside him.

“We better sit, what I’m about to tell you might take a while.” She nodded and sat down with him in front of the grave. He told her about the story of the White Fang. How he was known throughout the village as a fierce and admirable ninja. He told her tales of all the things he knew his father to do with such pride in his voice. He spoke about how it’s because of his father that he worked so hard at a young age and rose through the ranks so quickly. She watched him tell the stories, amazed at how proud Kakashi sounded.

“But then there was a mission where things just went wrong. He was met with a choice: abandon the mission and save your comrades or abandon your comrades and complete the mission. He chose to save his teammates and the village vilified him for it. It got to the point where it grew too much for him… and he committed suicide.” He stayed quiet for a while, she took his hand and squeezed it.

“It’s very nice to meet you Hatake Sakumo.” She smiled at the grave.

“I’m in love with her.” He told the grave rather plainly, but she knew he was likely just trying to hold back everything he was feeling. Her heart swelled his words. 

“Kakashi is a great man. I’m lucky to have him. Thank you.” She sang praises and put her hand on his back rubbing it in soothing circles.

“ _ I’m _ the one that’s lucky.” He pulled down his mask to kiss her but she turned her head.

“Not in front of your dad…” She mumbled. He pulled up his mask and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“Right… Shall we go then?” Kakashi asked her. She nodded. They got up and waved goodbye to the grave. Once they were at the entrance of the cemetery he stopped, pulled her close, pulled down his mask, and then kissed her. She felt so much love in that kiss her heart began to ache.

“I know you didn’t plan it but thank you for taking me there.” She told him as she rested her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head and put his mask back on.

“Let’s go to the movies so we can get good seats.” Kakashi told her.

They arrived a little late, but only missed a few previews. They sat excitedly next to each other in the movie theater that was a little more packed than they expected. During the movie they laughed, they cried, they cheered, and groaned, but all throughout the movie, they held each other closely.

Once the movie was over, they sat for a moment while the credits rolled. “That was amazing.” They both said simultaneously.

“I mean not better than the book.” She said.

“No, no, of course not but still.” Kakashi contemplated.

“Amazing.” They both finished.

“There’s one last thing I thought of to do today.” Kakashi told her.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise.” He said pulling down her bandana to cover her eyes, he then lifted her up and carried her to their destination. It seemed like they were travelling for a while, which could only mean that they were headed to their spot. She placed a hand on his cheek and she could feel the smile on his face. No… She wouldn’t spoil it for him, she’d pretend she didn’t know.

He finally set her down and raised her bandana so she could see. They were at the spot, but what was most important was that Kakashi had tried to recreate their first date. Standing before her was the same blanket as last time with candles, wine, two bento boxes, and a single red rose.

“Kakashi…” she whispered. Just when she thought she couldn’t have her heart filled anymore, he managed to top himself. “When did you even have time?”

“Well I had the picnic basket set up for a while with the stuff, and I picked up some food on the way here, I’m glad you didn’t notice that part.” He said smiling with that smile she loved.

When she pulled down his mask he had a surprised expression and so she said “I want to see that beautiful smile of yours.” This made him smile again. “There it is.”

He chuckled, “Ok well sit down, lets eat.” She just realized she hadn’t eaten all day and pretty much scarfed everything down like a mad woman. When she finished she looked up to a Kakashi in total awe.

“Sorry… I forgot I haven’t eaten…” she giggled nervously.

“Not a problem. I’m glad you enjoyed my cooking so much.” He chuckled. He opened the bottle of wine and poured two glasses. “So how safe are you going to be?”

“Have you heard of the village of the hidden sound?” She asked him.

“It’s that the one where Orochimaru reigns?” Kakashi asked.

“Or so it’s thought. They’re contemplating inviting them to the chunin exams. The Hokage wants me to check things out first.” She explained.

“How long will you be gone for?” He inquired.

“A week. It’s not dependent on intel so I’ll be back roughly a week from now.” She answered. “Anything else you need me to answer before you trust that I know what I’m doing?” She questioned.

Kakashi’s cheeks grew red, “I-I’m sorry.” He was flustered and embarrassed, so she grabbed his hand.

“I’ll be fine, this is the exact stuff I’m trained for.” She insisted and finished her wine. She crawled over to him while he quickly finished his glass. He leaned back with his hands on the blanket while she bit her lip. “Thank you for the dinner” she flirted while pressing her hips into his.

“Such a tease…” He purred.

“What…? You don’t like it?” She asked with innocence in her tone while she wriggled her hips against his.

“Come here” He growled while pulling her hair and flipping her over so that he was now on top of her. Then he grabbed her left calf and lifted it so he could push his hardon into her for her to feel through their clothes. She felt his hot breath in her ear which he nibbled causing her to let out a soft moan. She stretched out her neck as a sign for him to continue down it which he obliged. Pressing her hips up into his, she let out a moan. “Someone’s getting eager.” Feeling his hot breath on her skin caused goosebumps. “Let's fix that.”

He moved to her lips this time, the first was soft, but the feeling of desperation quickly grew causing the kiss to intensify. Soon his tongue was exploring the mouth he was already so familiar with, but still enjoyed every second of. She pulled at his neck gipping it tightly using it to hoist herself and press more into his hips. He broke the kiss and whispered “You naughty girl… So desperate today.” He leaned onto one side and used his free arm to undo her pants. He reached in and felt between her lower lips causing her to let out a soft moan. Upon feeling her wetness, he whispered into her ear, “My my, so wet already… How bad do you want it? I need to hear you say it.”

“I want you Kakashi, please I’m so wet.” She pleaded him.

“Get up.” He commanded. She got up as he instructed while he followed to quickly push her up against the nearest tree. He started taking off his sweatshirt and undershirt, seeing this she took off her sweatshirt, and took off her cargo pants and underwear. Then she jumped on him, wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around her neck. “So, so eager…” He pressed his lips against hers with such force and passion it sent a shiver down her spine.

She dropped down while he let his dick out from the slit in his boxers and threw up one of her legs above his shoulder to insert himself into her causing her to whimper, “Oh Kakashi… I need you.” Hearing that got him to immediately start pounding into her. Pushing her roughly against the tree, being kissed desparately, it all led her to finally letting go. She was in the middle of the forest, and she didn’t care who heard her in that moment, so she broke the kiss and yelled, “Faster!”

Putting down her leg she jumped on him with him still inside her and wrapped her legs around him. To support her, he held her against the tree and grabbed onto her thighs. “I want to hear you moan my name.”

“oooooo Kakashiiiiii faster please please” She whimpered out begging now. He growled in response and started sucking along her neck hard, his grip on her thighs getting tighter and his pace getting faster. “Don’t stop please please, I’m so close.” She didn’t think he could get any faster, but somehow, he managed to. The feeling of her neck being pulled at by those teeth of his, the rapid pounding hitting her at just the right spot, the bark of the tree brushing her back behind her giving her this raw animalistic feeling… She soon felt her toes curl as she threw her head back and screamed in sweet ecstasy. Hee walls closed in, pulsing, causing Kakashi to achieve it as well while he gave his final last thrusts, he then carried her and laid her back down on the blanket and collapsed beside her. They both worked on catching their breaths while sharing a loving but intense stare. She placed one hand on his cheek and told him, “I’ll be back in a week.”

“Ok.” He kissed her palm finally appearing to be relieved of tension and worry.

“I hate to say this, but I was supposed to leave at nightfall.”

“I understand.” Kakashi said quietly.

“Thank you for today. It was lovely.” She gave him one last kiss and finished stripping down. She teleported her anbu uniform pieces. First her skin tight bottoms, green this time to simulate the leaves and grass she’d be encountering. Then her top skin-tight top/mask/hood with the slit over her breasts. Next her needles which she placed the pouch away, and lastly her anbu mask.

She started to grab her stuff but Kakashi stopped her. “Don’t worry I’ve got it.” She hesitated. “Really.”

She gave him her things, took off both her masks and gave him one last kiss goodbye. With that she put everything back on and ran off.


	20. Bar Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> “I’M SORRY SNEAKY SENSEI I JUST WANTED TO WATCH I DIDN’T MEAN-“ It was only Naruto. She let out a deep sigh and let go of her defensive stance. She walked over to remove the sai from the tree while he was still blabbering.
> 
> “Word of advice Naruto.” She said sternly.
> 
> “Yes sneaky-sensei?” Naruto asks.
> 
> She chuckled at the nickname. It seemed very… fitting. More than he likely knew. “Don’t sneak up against your superior when they’re sparring. Especially if they’re pissed.” She hissed while Naruto gulped. “Now what are you doing out here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***** TW *****  
> They're both drunk and have sloppy drunk sex. Just thought that might be triggering to some.

Making her way home, she felt tired. Nothing had happened to her, she simply gathered intel and went unnoticed. It was a strange place, the land of sound. Nothing really quite sat right there. There was also no Orochimaru to be found despite evidence leading to suspicions of him being there. She knew he was hiding somewhere, but she didn’t have enough time to find him with the time she had there. Her time there taught her something very sinister was going on, but there wasn’t enough intel to find out exactly what. For these reasons she knew Kakashi would have to wait, she went back to her place to fill out her report.

Once the report was filed, she immediately went to the Hokages office, despite it being clear as day she waited out on the windowsill. Luckily nobody was in his office, so she immediately entered, not waiting for his permission.

“Ahhhh Kessho, you’re back.” The Third Hokage said.

“Yes sir and I request immediate redeployment.” She told him adamantly.

“Now, now Kessho, what’s the rush?” the Hokage said calmly. She simply handed him the report. Walking to the door, she locked it before anyone can come in while she waits patiently for him to read through it. It contained thorough details of everything that was eerie and not quite right with the place. There were also some possible locations listed for Orochimaru’s hideout. “I see… I don’t really see anything here requiring you to be immediately set off again.”

“But Lord I-“

“Even if there were, the idea is to have you here in the village now. You need to stay in here Kessho, mustn't you forget. If in a week you still feel the same, then you can have another week extracting information from the land of sound.” He explained calmly.

She sighed, “Yes Lord Hokage.” She bowed and left.

Instead of heading to Kakashi’s she heads back to her place. She wasn’t ready to see him yet… There was a lot of frustration boiling up in her and she needed to release it. Changing into her normal shinobi uniform, she grabbed her sai and headed out to the training grounds.

When she got there she called on a few shadow clones and started training, but this time with her lightning attached to her sai. Jumping, dodging, lunging, and throwing ensued and the clanks of the metal could be heard throughout the training grounds. She had become so self-involved that she hadn’t even noticed when someone approached to watch. When she finally had noticed she lunged a sai that passed close enough for the wind from it’s passing to brush against their face, only to hit the tree behind them.

“I’M SORRY SNEAKY SENSEI I JUST WANTED TO WATCH I DIDN’T MEAN-“ It was only Naruto. She let out a deep sigh and let go of her defensive stance. She walked over to remove the sai from the tree while he was still blabbering.

“Word of advice Naruto.” She said sternly.

“Yes sneaky-sensei?” Naruto asks.

She chuckled at the nickname. It seemed very…  _ fitting _ . More than he likely knew. “Don’t sneak up against your superior when they’re sparring.  **Especially** if they’re pissed.” She hissed while Naruto gulped. “Now what are you doing out here?”

“Well I was training. I’m still trying to get better control of my chakra.” Naruto spoke.

“Well I just so happen to have excellent control. Though I’m not sure you’re willing to do, or even capable of doing what you need to get better at it.” She knew daring him would be exactly what was needed to get him to listen.

“What do you know?! I Could totally do it! I’m really strong and I never give up! Please sneaky-sensei, teach me please!” Naruto pleaded.

“Alright but first you gotta tell me why you keep calling me sneaky-sensei.” She inquired.

“Oh, that’s easy! I always see you around town but then you disappear out of nowhere and during the test we took with Kakashi-sensei you were hidden somewhere came out of nowhere but knew everything that happened! You’re just super sneaky!” Naruto marveled.

She laughed at the explanation. He was right, she probably did do all of that. She could get used to that nickname. “Alright come on over by the river.” They walked right up to the river and she motioned for him to sit down facing her while cross-legged. “Close your eyes and listen to the river. Breathe in and out as if your breaths were being carried by the river. Now chakra is something that is constantly flowing throughout your body. When your mind is at ease, you can try to become more aware of your body, including the chakra flowing within you. Now you need to relax each and every one of your muscles. Visualize them loosening, starting with the ones in your feet, moving upwards to your calf and shin, and so on.” She decided now would be a good time to take a peek at Naruto. The poor kid was concentrating so hard he looked constipated. There wasn’t much she could do about his lack of concentration, but she could at least tell him how to best control his chakra.

“Only when all your muscles are relaxed can you truly feel the chakra. You can feel it moving within you like an ever-flowing river, just like the one we are next to right now.” She closed her eyes again. “Once you become aware of your chakra, study it. Feel the way it moves. Time it. Feel how long it takes to flow through you. Once you finally feel every little piece of chakra, you are then able to shift and mold it within your body. You can visualize the chakra moving to your feet, to your hands, pushing it out if you need to onto your blade. Do you feel it, Naruto?” She asked him.

“I feel something…” Naruto said right before he farted. Yup, that child just farted and she stood up in disgust.

“Well Naruto… I think that’s all I can stand to smell for today.” She faked a smile. 

“Aw come on sneaky-sensei!” Naruto pleaded. “You were barely here for any time at all!”

“Naruto… This isn’t something I can teach you anymore. I explained what you need to do. The rest is up to you. That is, unless… You don’t want to learn how Anbu soldiers control their chakra…”

“WHAT?!” Naruto boomed. “You taught me an Anbu tactic?! How AWESOME! THANK YOU SNEAKY-SENSEI!”

“Remember Naruto, that technique is useless unless you practice it. So I recommend you practice it a lot. You could withstand it to learn how to use more patience. I also recommend you do this by the river, it’ll help you focus.” She advised him. “Oh and Naruto?”

“Hm?”

“If you tell anyone else about this technique, I’ll have to kill you.” She said in the sternest tone she could muster while she laughed internally.

“WHA--- NO PLEASE SNEAKY SENSEI I PROMISE TO KEEP THIS A SECRET PLEASE DON’T KILL ME I SWEAR I WON’T TELL ANYONE-” Naruto continued to plead as she left the battlegrounds and walked back to her place.

When she got home, she immediately started running a bath. She felt a little guilty she hadn’t let Kakashi know she was back yet… But she felt the need to take a moment to herself first. Hopefully he’d forgive her when she went to pick him up for drinks. She sank her head under the water and thought about her mission. The abandoned buildings… How she couldn’t sense things the right way… Their Daimyo seemingly under a trance… A trance to seek power. She resurfaced. Enough. Time to get ready. She rummaged around in her large closet for something nice to wear. She pulled out a little black dress with long lace sleeves and the lace continued down the sides of the dress finishing at her hips. The non- lace part of the dress was cut in the shape of an hourglass. With them she wore some lace black heels and her signature red lip. She looked at the clock on the wall, which she found herself doing more and more lately.  _ Dammit I’m already late and I haven’t even gone to drag Kakashi out,  _ she thought to herself.

She started jumping around running in her heels.  _ Like a challenge right? This is totally shinobi training jumping around in heels  _ she pondered. She got onto Kakashi’s balcony, but the place was empty.  _ He couldn’t already be at the bar… Could he? _

Jumping off his balcony, she decided to walk the rest of the way to the bar. When she walked in, he was already there sitting next to Anko.

“Hey! When Kakashi showed up but you didn’t we assumed you weren’t coming out!” Asuma shouted.

“Wait, so I was later than the always late Hatake Kakashi?” She asked.

“It would appear so, you’re making me look bad Kessho. People are going to start expecting me to be on time.” He said without taking his eyes off of his book. She chuckled at the remark, and that’s when he finally noticed her. He was so stunned he put his book down and kept his eyes on her as she sat down across from him. His stares caused her cheeks to turn a rosy color and smile back at him. Under the table she rubbed her leg against his, causing him to smile.

“I know we planned to meet to discuss your team when I got back, but I needed to let off some steam first. Then I ran into Naruto.” She told Kakashi, trying to subtly avoid too many questions about their meeting.

“Yeah I actually ran into Naruto after you did, and he told me. What exactly did you do to him…? The poor kid was terrified.” He chuckled but with a slight tone of concern towards the end. She laughed hard.

“Wait, Kessho scared one of your students?” Anko tuned in suddenly. “Maybe you should help me with the Chunin exams.”

“Haha, I just taught him a trick to try and control his chakra better. I told him it was an Anbu technique and that if he told anyone else, I’d have to kill him. I just said it for a laugh, I didn’t think he’d take it so seriously.” She chuckled while rubbing the back of her neck.

“Nonsense! Scaring kids every once in a while, is good for them!” Anko exclaimed.

“I don’t want you doing that to my students on Monday.” Asuma warned.

“Well we’ll just have to see how they behave.” She joked. “How was your week Kakashi?” She asked.

“Oh just ran into one of the seven swordsmen of the mist and my team helped take them down. The usual.” He said nonchalantly while taking a shot. She knew exactly what group he was talking about as she had sought information on them before. She took his sake, poured herself a shot and took it.

“That’s a lot to unpack.” She commented.

“Well it all turned out fine in the end, so it’s all good anyways. How about you, how was your mission?” He asked knowing full well she’d have to make something up. It’s like he wanted to see how well she would be able to conceal her mission.

“Oh it was fine. Just had to escort someone over to the land of Iron, so you know, it took a while. Luckily there were no run-ins. Nothing nearly as adventurous as you it sounds.” She smirked knowing full well the barrage of questions he was about to get from the group. Getting up and heading to the bar, she ordered herself a bottle of sake.

By the time she sat back down, they were still asking Kakashi questions, much to his regret. He was trying his best to make sure his answers didn’t lead to more questions, but he was unsuccessful in his attempts. “So Anko, aren’t you dating someone right now?” She asked in attempts to divert the attention from him. He glanced over and his face was full of thank you praises.

“Hmmm… I wouldn’t say we are dating, more like just hooking up. Why are you looking for someone?” Anko asked placing her chin on her hands and peering at her.

_ Shit. _

“Heh. No, I’m good for now.” She told her.

“Why not? With that bod you got and that mystery factor you got going for you, you could practically have any guy you want!” Anko sang. “I mean, there’s already a few guys I know that are interested.”

“Oh really?” Kakashi chimed in suddenly intrigued. Her cheeks turned about as red as her lips, she quickly poured herself another shot and took it.

“Alright,  _ now _ I’m ready to hear it. Spill Anko.” She demanded.

“YES! Finally! Ok. Well so there’s a few people from the guard that are interested like Hijiri, although I think he’s afraid of you a little and you can do better than someone who’s afraid of you.” Kakashi chuckled. “Then there’s Genma, which I know you turned him down with some excuse that there’s someone else, but he still has a crush on you.” She felt a little guilty about that one… This was something she already knew, but hoped he would get over because she could really see him becoming a close friend. “Then of course there’s Ebisu, the big perv. He’ll like anyone with boobs that are big enough, and yours could rival the great Sanin Tsunade.”

“She’s right you know.” Kakashi chimed in.

She looked down at her breasts and  _ Yeah… I can see it,  _ she thought to herself.

“So does that mean you’re interested too, Kakashi?” Anko asked with so much excitement it looked like she might explode. Kakashi on the other hand looked like he might explode for different reasons.

“So who else that you know that is already interested in me?” She asked Anko. Kakashi quickly took a shot of sake after that close one.

“Oh! Yeah, well those are the ones that have asked me about you, but I know there’s more. Like I said you got that mysterious thing going for you and guys just love that! Do you want me to ask around because I can, you know!” Anko beamed.

She wanted to say no. She tried so hard to say no, but seeing Anko so excited… “Ok…” She sighed.

“YES! FINALLY!” Anko shouted with everyone at the table shocked.

“But.” Then suddenly everyone murmured back to what they were doing. “I don’t know that I’m ready. I’ve just been trying to get accustomed to staying in the same place for so long.” Anko grew a little disappointed, but Anko was still plenty excited for her new challenge.

She poured herself another shot and took it. For the rest of the night, they talked more small talk and drank. When she finished her sake, she decided to call it a night, only now starting to feel how exhausted she was from her travels and training. “Alright guys, I’m going to head out.” She announced.

She walked out of the bar feeling the warmness from the drinks on her cheeks,  _ mostly _ walking straight. Shortly after Kakashi caught up to her, he appeared to be in the same state as her. They both looked at each other and said: “They know.” And laughed.

“I wonder how much longer Anko is going to be able to keep her mouth shut from prying out answers about our sex life.” She pondered out loud.

“Yeah and Kurenai was watching like a hawk the entire night.” Kakashi commented.

“Yeah I saw that too!” She giggled.

“And Guy kept giving me the thumbs up every time he caught me looking at you.” He chuckled.

“Now that I didn’t see.”

“We should bet on how long it takes for Anko to finally say something.” Kakashi suggested.

“Alright I bet she will blab next time we all go out together.” She slurred a little.

“Hmmm I think she won’t do it until the second time we all go out.” Kakashi told her. “Ok now what do we bet?” He asked.

“Well we can’t bet sex… We both like that too much.” He nodded in agreement. “What about… hmmm…. I know! If I win, you have to take me out to a fancy place. One where I can actually see what you look like all dressed up!” She exclaimed while he groaned, but he eventually agreed.

“Ok if I win, you have to give me a lap dance” He said while clapping his hands in excitement at the thought.

“If you wanted a lap dance all you had to do was ask, you didn’t need to bet for one.” She teased.

“Wha-?”

“Nope! Too late now!” She laughed.

“Come here.” He said, pulling her into an alley. He was wearing only his skintight mask shirt with some of his usual shinobi pants. His strong shoulders and biceps exposed. He put his palms on either side of her head and looked her up and down. “You’re beautiful.” he said before crashing his lips into hers. She licked his bottom lip and he allowed her to enter both tasting remnants of each other’s sake. He moved his hands to her waist, one drifting down behind her to her ass pulling her in close. The other hand, going to feel her breast. Letting out a soft moan, she moved her hands around his neck and pulled to break the kiss.

“Kakashi, what are you doing, your apartment’s right over there.” She giggled flirtatiously.

“I waited all day, and I just didn’t want to wait anymore.” Kakashi purred in her ear. She smiled and leaned in to kiss him more while pressing her hips against his, causing him to squeeze her lower cheeks tightly.

She quickly flickered behind him, grabbed his arm and pulled him back to his apartment. They both stumbled up the stairs and nearly fell a few times, but eventually they made it to the door. As soon as they got into the front door and closed it, it was like something took over him. He instantly started kissing her. When she put her arms around his neck, he grabbed her thighs and lifted her up to place her on the edge of the square dinning table. Reaching down and up her dress he met bare lower lips.

“No underwear…? You naughty, naughty girl.” He growled in her ear. Then he felt in between her lower lips. “And so wet too.” He slowly started to rub her clit while suckling on her neck. She let out a quiet moan into his ear, and with that he lowered and placed two fingers inside her. The fingers curled up and pressed right in that spot that made her feel pure bliss.

“Kakashi…” With his free hand he turned her face towards him and kissed her in a drunk, sloppy, kiss. A kiss full of lust that they were both feeling. With that he started thrusting his fingers in and out of her while kissing down her neck. “Kakashiiiii….” She moaned again. “Fuck me please. I want to feel you.”

“Is that so?” He immediately stops with his fingers and puts them in her mouth. She starts licking and sucking on his fingers wiping them clean. “Such a good girl…” He pulls down his pants enough to pull out his already hardened dick and lines up against her entrance. He leaves it there for a moment.

“Please please please fuck me Kakashi.” She begged, and with that he rammed into her while he kissed her lips again. He began thrusting with such unexpected speed and force, she could quickly feel herself building up. She moaned against his lips in the utter ecstasy that she was feeling getting so close so soon. He pressed his forehead against hers to meet her gaze. “Kakashi… I’m close…”

“So soon?” He smirked and with that he began to pull out further and thrust in deeper. Feeling that intensity, she placed her palms behind her and arched her back savoring her pleasure. He bent down to kiss the neck that was now fully exposed as he started to pick up the pace again.

“Ka-… Ka-… Shi…” she stuttered between moans finally her walls began to close and convulse as she felt him release into her. Once she rode out her orgasm with him, she looked up to meet his eyes. There was a sudden gentleness in them and he gave her a soft gentle kiss.

“I’m so happy you’re here.” He cooed.

“I’m so happy to be here. With you, and I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.” She lifted her off of the table and carried her into the bedroom and placed her on the bed. She took off of her dress and cuddled under the covers. He took off his pants and got in under the cover after raising his mask.

“What happened?” Kakashi asked. She turned on her side to face him and placed her arm under her head.

_ So is this what they call pillow talk? _ She thought to herself. “There’s something not right with that place… But I also didn’t have enough intel to prove that Orochimaru is there. I asked for immediate re-deployment, but Sarutobi thinks the threat isn’t that serious.” She could tell that her mentioning the immediate redeployment stung a little at him, but she also thought it would be better to be truthful with him. “I wouldn’t have suggested the re-deployment unless I thought it was necessary.” She said as she placed a hand on his cheek trying to reassure him. “There’s no place I’d rather be than here with you right now.”

“I understand.” He said while placing his hand on hers.

“I got frustrated when he wouldn’t listen so I went to go spar at the training grounds. I was practicing running lightning against my sai and I guess I was a little too blinded by my rage because I didn’t notice Naruto at first. I threw a sai next to his face…. Oops….” She said nervously while Kakashi chuckled. “He also started calling me sneaky sensei.”

“Sneaky sensei? How… Fitting…” He chuckles.

“I thought the same.” She told him. “So Zabuza…?”

“It was nothing.” Kakashi mentioned quickly.

“Kakashi…” she whined wanting him to be a little more honest with her.

“Really… If it had been me alone, I might’ve had a little more trouble, but Naruto and Sasuke… They’re proving to be something else…” He trailed off.

“Well I’m glad they were there then.” She said as she nestled into his chest and drifted off into sleep.


	21. Read to me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> Walking back into the kitchen, she continued to put things away. She began to make some rice and miso soup. While everything was still cooking, she went to go check in on Kakashi. He was still fast asleep, for a moment she leaned in the doorframe and watched him. He was curled up as if he was trying to hold on to someone who wasn’t there. The blanket was draped over him but the top of his anbu tattoo was ever so slightly peaking out. His face looked so peaceful… Until it didn’t. There was a strain, a furrowing of his brows, a sudden jolt of his arm. “No. No. No!”
> 
> She ran over to him and sat at the edge of the bed softly reaching to try and rub his arm to soothe him but he quickly grabbed her, pinned her down and tried to hold what she thought must be an invisible kunai to her throat. “Kakashi!” He awoke and quickly got off of her. “Remind me to be more careful waking you up next time.”
> 
> “I’m so sorry. I.. I don’t know what happened.” Kakashi stammered his voice cracking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *** TW***   
> PTSD
> 
> This chapter is exceptionally fluffy.

The next morning she woke up early, got dressed in her typical jonin uniform, and left Kakashi a little note as he was still sound asleep.

> _ My beloved star, _
> 
> __ __ _ Went out to do some errands. Be back soon! _
> 
> __ __ _ Love, _
> 
> __ __ _ Kessho _

With that she went off to the bookstore. Going back to the romance novel section, she finds a new book that looks similar to the Icha Icha series. She grabbed a copy, bought it and left. After that she went to go get some groceries for Kakashi’s almost always bare fridge. Once she got the two brown paper bags, with her new book on top, she headed back to his apartment barely being able to see what was in front of her due to her height and the size of the bags. She stumbled a few times when going up the steps, but was stumped when she reached the door.

_ Fuck. I did not think this through… I locked it on the way out… Fuck me.  _ She thought. She ended up deciding to try to knock with the back of her heel hoping Kakashi would be up by now. After waiting for a while, she knocked with her heel again. There were some groans, a loud thud, then some footsteps before the door finally opened. It would appear she woke him up.

“Ke…ssho?” He asked groggily. She pushed herself inside and put the two heavy bags on the counter and started putting things away.

“Sorry I went to go run some errands and locked myself out.” She explained. He was still standing by the door with it wide open, so she stopped putting things away and closed the door. Turning to him she grabbed his hand and led him back to the bed. “Sleep, you probably don’t get enough.” She said while tucking him back in. He mumbled something but she couldn’t quite make out what was being said.

Walking back into the kitchen, she continued to put things away. She began to make some rice and miso soup. While everything was still cooking, she went to go check in on Kakashi. He was still fast asleep, for a moment she leaned in the doorframe and watched him. He was curled up as if he was trying to hold on to someone who wasn’t there. The blanket was draped over him but the top of his anbu tattoo was ever so slightly peaking out. His face looked so peaceful… Until it didn’t. There was a strain, a furrowing of his brows, a sudden jolt of his arm. “No. No. No!”

She ran over to him and sat at the edge of the bed softly reaching to try and rub his arm to soothe him but he quickly grabbed her, pinned her down and tried to hold what she thought must be an invisible kunai to her throat. “Kakashi!” He awoke and quickly got off of her. “Remind me to be more careful waking you up next time.”

“I’m so sorry. I.. I don’t know what happened.” Kakashi stammered his voice cracking.

“Shhhhh… It’s ok” She reached and pulled him into her resting his head on her chest. “You had a nightmare. It’s ok, you didn’t know what you were doing.” She cooed while rubbing his chest in a constant circular motion.

“I almost hurt you…” He chocked.

“With what…? Your invisible kunai? I should get me one of those.” They both chuckled.

He grew serious again. “That’s not what I mean.”

“Kakashi, you really think that you could hurt me even if you tried? There’s no way in hell I’d let you.” She tried to reassure him. “Do you want to talk about it…?”

He stayed quiet for a moment but finally answered, “Not yet.”

“Ok” She kissed the top of his head. “Breakfast should be ready… Do you want something to eat?”

“In a minute” He curled into her more tightly. She held him closer and rested her lips on the top of his head and patiently waited for him to feel ready to face the world again.

When he finally was ready they both got up and she walked into the kitchen. Luckily she had put the food on simmer so nothing was burnt. She poured him a bowl of miso soup and a bowl of rice and placed it before him, she then did the same for herself. Before sitting down, she grabbed the soy sauce and an egg for Kakashi.

“You made my favorite.” he smiled.

“I’ve seen you eat it enough times to know.” She smiled back while she watched him pour some soy sauce and mix some raw egg in. Raw egg was something she could not bring herself to like, so she ate her rice plain and enjoyed her miso soup. They both ate in a comforting silence.

He got up and went to go get dressed while she cleared the table and put the food away. “I was gonna come help with that…” He said while still in the bedroom.

“It’s fine.” She said now washing the dishes.

He walked up to the kitchen and looked a little tense while holding onto his arm and rubbing it. “I have something I want to go do today… Alone…”

She looked at him for a moment with slight concern.  _ Maybe he’s just going to go see his father… _ she contemplated. “Ok… I was just going to curl up and read a new book I bought. I’d like to do it here if that’s ok with you.”

“I’d really like that actually…” She could see him smile through his mask, but not quite his closed eye smile.

“Ok, would you like some tea before you head out?” She offered.

“No, I’d rather just head out.” He declined.

She walked up to kiss his cheek. “I’ll be here waiting.” She could tell that her words comforted him as he walked out the door. Taking out the kettle and placing water in it, she began making her tea. She walked over to the small closet in front of the bathroom door and grabbed a blanket and placed it onto the couch. Then she grabbed her new book off of the counter and tossed it onto the couch. The kettle started screeching, so she grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured the water in. She grabbed a bag of some calming tea and plopped it in. Carrying the mug with her, she went to go curl up on the couch. She wrapped the blanket around her and nestled into her corner to read her new book.

After what must’ve been hours, she noticed the sun beginning to set and decided to start making some dinner. She took out the soup and rice to reheat and started sautéing some pork belly and some veggies. The door opened and closed.

“It smells really good, but you didn’t need to make dinner too.” Kakashi remarked.

“I don’t mind. Besides, as long as you enjoy it, it makes me happy.” She smiled.

“I brought you something…” Kakashi said shyly

“Hm…?” She turned to him and he was holding out a single red rose for her. She walked around the kitchen counter to him, put her hand on his cheeks, lowered his mask, and gave him a soft kiss. She pulled his mask back up and said, “Thank you.”

“Thank you for this morning.” He told her. She moved her hands down to hold his.

“You don’t need to thank me for that.” She reassured him and lifted his hands to hold them close to her. He kissed her forehead and looked at her with such love in his eyes. “My pork!” She shouted running to the kitchen. “Ok, it’s not burnt.” She said as she began serving the food and placing it on the table.

They both sat at the table and began to eat. “Did you do everything you needed to do?” She asked. She figured this way he wouldn’t be forced to tell her anything he wasn’t comfortable sharing. By the look on his face, this wording was much appreciated.

“Yes. How’s your book?” He asked.

“Oh, it’s getting very juicy.” She mentioned.

“And why’s that?” He asked intrigued.

“They’re about to get married but she’s unsure about things because she thinks he’s in love with someone else even though so far it seems that’s in her head.”

“That does sound pretty juicy.” He agreed.

“Do you ever think about it…?” She treaded carefully.

“About what…?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Not anytime soon, but like way… way… way… WAY… down the line…” She hesitated for a moment but he kept waiting. She started to think he just wanted to hear her say the words. “Like the idea of getting married… to someone…” She said uncomfortably.

“Oh. That.” He chuckled. “I mean. Sometimes… But I think the only way I can imagine myself getting married is via a shinobi wedding.”

“A shinobi wedding?” She questioned with confusion.

“You’ve never heard of it?” He asked, she shook her head. “Well a shinobi wedding is something that’s typically done when two people who are in love get married right before going to war or before one or both sets off on a mission where they might not come back alive. It’s simple… You just exchange rings on a necklace and celebrate with a shot of sake.” He explained.

She pictured it for a moment. “It seems nice… Intimate.” She acknowledged while he smiled. They finished the rest of their dinner in silence, occasionally stealing glances at each other, simply content with each other's presence. Once dinner was done she started to clean the table but Kakashi stopped her.

“You cooked; I’ll clean up. You need to finish that book over there.” He smiled. She nodded and went back to the couch to read some more. After Kakashi was done cleaning, she could hear him making tea. When he finished he brought some over to her and curled into her. “How’s the book going?”

“Well she ran away from the wedding, but she hasn’t been able to forget about him.” She told him.

He met her eyes and said, “Read to me.” He pleaded. She smiled wide.

“Ok.

> I looked out the window and wondered if Kakashi ever thought of me.”

“Kakashi?” He interrupted.

“I like to replace the names in these romance novels with yours and mine…” She said embarrassed. He blushed and smiled so she continued.

> “It was so hard to keep staying away from him, but it was the only way she knew how to get the pain to lessen…”

She continued to read to him until they fell asleep on the couch.


	22. Team 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> “Kakashi’s been through a lot.” Asuma warned while watching the genin.
> 
> “I gathered. So have I though.” She countered.
> 
> “I figured. I’m hoping you two use that to bring each other up instead of dragging each other down.” He advised. She meditated on his words for a moment. Was this something they were doing? No… Maybe at first… Years ago… But not anymore.
> 
> “I don’t think we are… Bringing each other down. Let me know if you see that happening. I don’t want Kakashi to get hurt, especially not at my hands.” She whispered wondering if he heard her. He did though.
> 
> “So are you actually Anbu, or just full of shit?” He asked her jokingly. She moved her sweatshirt neckline and stretched it to show him the tattoo on her upper arm.
> 
> “Satisfied?” She mumbled while he laughed another deep hearty laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grammar bad.

She awoke on the bed with strong arms wrapped around her, he must’ve moved her to the bed at some point. The thoughtfulness filled her with such warmth. She looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw it was already much later than they should’ve woken up at. She turned and placed a hand on his cheek “Kakashi…” she spoke. “Kakashi…” She kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and pulled her in close, enough to feel his morning wood.

“Mmmm… Good morning” he moaned opening his eyes. He quickly started to kiss her neck and press into her more causing her to moan in response.

“Kakashi, as much as I’d love to, we are already late.” She warned. His hands continued to roam and move down to her butt where he squeezed the cheek hard and pulled her in as much as he could. She noticed he had taken off her pants last night, so there was nothing between them but some sheer fabric.

“What’s a few more minutes then?” He insisted moving her sweatshirt to expose her collarbone where he began to nibble the skin. She contemplated the idea for a moment.

“A few minutes is not how long it should last.” She teased. He raised her leg over his hip and used this to feel her.

“See? You’re so wet just waiting for me… Think of it as a preview for tonight.” He whispered in her ear. That was all she needed to be convinced.

“Let’s make it quick then” She kissed him, pushed him on his back, and began rubbing herself against his morning wood with the underwear still on. She could feel him moaning back through the kisses. Suddenly the kisses turned to growls, where he then grabbed her and put her under him. He pulled out his girth and pushed her underwear to the side and went into her, so she arched her back and let out a loud moan. He bent down and kissed her.

He started thrusting into her slowly but quickly picked up the pace. One hand went to play with her nipple, the other he used to grab her hand and move it down to her clit. He bent over to her ear and whispered, “I want to see you touch yourself.”

She started rubbing her clit in circles, and with the speed he was going it didn’t take much to make her feel the rush of the wave coming. “I’m close…” She moaned out. He began thrusting harder now, trying to keep pace, but go deeper. Soon the wave finally came and crashed on them both, and both his hands were placed by either side of her head. He bent down and kissed her gently. After another moment of serenity, she exclaimed “OK now get off I’m late!”

He chuckled as he got off and they both got dressed and left his apartment. She ran off to go meet Asuma as this was the week, she was supposed to be shadowing him. When she arrived at the training grounds where they were at, the team was already practicing their respective specialized jutsu. Walking over to Asuma, she smelled the cigarette smoke.

“You’re late.” He huffed.

“Yeah sorry about that. Overslept.” She put her hand on her other arm and squeezed over her embarrassment.

“So Kakashi, huh?” He gruffed with his hands in his pockets.

“Yup. Please don’t tell Anko you told us though. Kakashi and I have a bet as to how long it’ll take her to blab about what she knows.” She told him and he let out a deep hearty laugh.

“Alright, I won’t say anything. You guys weren’t doing a good job of hiding it though.” He warned.

“Oh and don’t tell your dad about this.” She mentioned. He looked confused but just shook his head.

“He’s been through a lot.” He warned while watching the genin.

“I gathered. So have I though.” She countered.

“I figured. I’m hoping you two use that to bring each other up instead of dragging each other down.” He advised. She meditated on his words for a moment. Was this something they were doing? No… Maybe at first… Years ago… But not anymore.

“I don’t think we are… Bringing each other down. Let me know if you see that happening. I don’t want Kakashi to get hurt, especially not at my hands.” She whispered wondering if he heard her. He did though.

“So are you actually Anbu, or just full of shit?” He asked her jokingly. She moved her sweatshirt neckline and stretched it to show him the tattoo on her upper arm.

“Satisfied?” She mumbled while he laughed another deep hearty laugh.

“You’re not half bad Kessho. Smoke?” Asuma offered. It had been a while since she had a cigarette or any tobacco. It wasn’t something she liked to do frequently… But once in a while, usually as part of a disguise she would engage.

“Sure.” She took one and held it out for him to light up. She breathed in the smoke and held it in for a brief moment before exhaling it.

“Not your first one I see.” He commented.

“Nah, it’s more of a social thing for me.” She mentioned and he nodded. She placed one arm under her chest and grabbed onto her other arm that was holding the cigarette.

“So how come I don’t remember you from when we were younger?” Asuma asked. “Unless you aren’t originally from the hidden leaf….?”

“I’m from here, I was just recruited really young. Sorry I’m more of a prodigy than you.” She shrugged.

He laughed. “Alright, if you say so. I might have to test that out for myself, seeing as how you’re sparring with everyone else that is.”

“At this rate I’m going to need to set up a schedule, because there’s no way I can take you, Guy, and Genma on the same day.” She whined before taking another puff of her cigarette. He chuckled again.

“Relax, I have no intention of sparring you every day. Unless… You’re that good?” He waggled his eyebrows.

“So, you see the problem?” She joked as they both laughed. They both finished their cigarettes.

“Well how about you show me what you got then.” Asuma asked.

“Weapons or no weapons?” She asked.

“Ladies choice.” He offered.

She took out her sai and spun them before saying, “Weapons it is then.”

“Alright guys, why don’t you watch us spar so you guys can see some up-close combat.”

Ino and the plump kid rushed to sit up close while the one with black hair approached slowly with his hands in his pockets. She took a defensive stance while she waited for Asuma. He pulled out his knuckle knives and lined them with… chakra?

“Pause.” She said while putting her sai at her sides and walking over to Asuma. “What is that?”

“What’s what?” He asked, slightly annoyed.

“What’s that blue haze?” She asked squinting at it.

“It’s my wind chakra, I line the blades with it to sharpen the blades with every use…” He explained.

She stopped for a moment, concentrating on the wind at sharpening her sai. “Like that she asked?”

“So you have an affinity for wind…” Asuma commented.

“I do. Now there’s no excuses on either of our ends.” She stood back and resettled into her defensive stance. Asuma took the first lunge at her which she blocked with her sai and stepped in a way to push him past her so that she was now behind him. She then tried to kick his footing out from under him but he jumped and evaded her attempt while also turning to face her.

“Nice try.” He chuckled.

_ Clank clank clank _ as the metal hit while they both attempted to land hits that they both blocked. She pushed back but only ended up pushing herself further back into the corner of the clearing. To remedy this she lunged at his side, something she knew he would block, allowing her to spin past him and now set him in the corner.

_ Clank clank clank _ as the metal hit some more still nobody landing anything. Finally she saw a small opening and managed to hit him with the handle of her sai on his forehead, only to then be hit herself in the face with his foot. The force of his blow caused her to turn, following the momentum of the kick to lessen the blow, she spun with the turn backwards until she was on even footing again. She could feel a little blood pooling in her mouth which she spat out. “Nice hit.” She told him.

Now she wasted no time lunging at him but their blades were matched, so this time she was planning a more kick-based approach of attack. First she aimed for his stomach, which he blocked, then another to the head, which he also blocked. She quickly faked a kick to use it as momentum to push up and kick his stomach head on to kick him back up against the tree. Without missing a beat she quickly threw a sai at him.

“That was good but I can still escape…” Asuma said. He then tried to walk forward but the sai had caught the collar of the flak jacket pinning him to the tree. She walked to him and grabbed her sai.

“You were saying?” She said with a smug grin on her face. He chuckled.

“I guess I will need to start sparring with you.” He joked.

“Awe… Fuck me…” she groaned.

“I’ll leave that to your boyfriend” He chuckled.

She looked over to the three sitting down in awe. They all started chattering amongst each other. Walking over to Asuma, she asked “How’s Ino with her mind transfer?”

“Well she’s a little stuck, and when she does get it, she can’t do it from too long a distance  _ and _ it’s taking her a while.” Asuma answered.

“Sounds like she has a long way to go…” she mumbled while watching Ino.

“Why are you interested…?” Asuma asked, pulling out another cigarette and offering her one. She declined.

“Don’t worry about it.” She called out to him while jogging over to Ino. She pulled Ino by the hand over to a corner of the clearing.

“Hey! What’s the big deal!” Ino asked, finally yanking back her hand from her grip.

“I’m going to train you. I can help you with your mind possession jutsu.” She told her. “Do you  _ not  _ want to improve it?”

“What…? Really?! Yes please! Teach me! Teach me!” She exclaimed while jumping up and down.

“Ok, let’s sit.” They both sat down, cross legged facing the two boys sparring and Asuma. “Now close your eyes and meditate. Meditate until you feel the chakra flowing through you. Let me know when you get there.” She ordered and fell silent, meditating herself feeling her own chakra flow.

A few moments pass in silence.

Finally Ino spoke, “I feel it.”

“Chakra is connected to the spiritual energy within ourselves. With the mind transfer jutsu, you are sending part of your spiritual energy to the target and using it to take over their minds. To use this jutsu you need to not only do the hand sign, but you also need to visualize the spiritual energy beaming between your hands and heading to your target. You need to see it extending before you as you’re making it happen. Only then will it work. Only when you see it go faster, will it go faster. Only when you see it extend longer, will it grow longer. Open your eyes Ino.”

They both opened their eyes.

“Choose your target.” Ino nodded. “Now do the hand sign and extend Ino.”

The one with the black hair was sitting still trying to do a shadow possession, while the one with brown hair was trying to evade it.

“Dammit! It didn’t work… But I was close I could tell. I just needed to be a little closer.” Ino moved to get up.

“No.” she said sternly and Ino sat back down in place. “You don’t need to get closer; you need to extend more. In the real world when using this jutsu, you won’t be up close. You likely will be far, far away in a tree or hidden or surrounded by comrades. You can’t have this be your solution. Concentrate and try it again.”

While she waited for Ino, she saw Asuma watching her closely. She knew he was probably trying to assess what her true purpose here was. Ino’s body fell lifeless.  _ She did it _ ,  _ but who did she…?  _ She thought to herself. Looking around she saw the black-haired kid suddenly start dancing, that must’ve been her. She was quickly transferred back to her body.

“Did you return or where you kicked?” She asked Ino.

“I didn’t know you could be kicked!” Ino whined.

“That’s the next step. Once you have possession, it becomes a battle of will. Whoever’s will is stronger, and by how much more strong, will determine how long you can possess the body. You need to improve your confidence and will. That is not something I can help with, but something you must practice on your own.” She explained. Afterwards she got up and walked over to Asuma.

Standing beside him, they watched the young genin spar, each one continuing to try their abilities on each other.

“There’s a lot of questions that if I ask them, you’re either not going to be able to answer, or you’re going to lie… Isn’t there?” Asuma asked in a low voice.

“Yup.” She said folding her arms.

“You haven’t actually retired have you?” Asuma asked. She stayed completely silent. “I see…”

“You better not go around spreading rumors about me Asuma. If you do… Well I love the third Hokage as if he was my own father, but I won’t hesitate to put you in your place.”

Asuma chuckled. “Well I guess that means you’re my sister then!” He chimed putting his arm around her while she continued to pout.

* * *

The next few days she spent on D-Rank missions with the young genin, simple things like helping out with farm work and finding lost pets. It was times like those where she longed for someone to call her into the Hokage’s office and assign her something more interesting. She had been staying at Kakashi’s place so much and was practically living there at this point.

_ Were we living together though…?  _ She thought to herself while walking to meet with team 10.  _ I mean I still have my house. And I do go back sometimes. His house is just closer to everything… Well I won’t be the one to say anything. Plus it’s not like he doesn’t want me there… _

She got out to the clearing where they usually trained and saw Asuma with Ino and Choji. “Where’s Shikamaru?” She asked Asuma.

“Shikamaru wants you to play shogi with him and I want you to go as well. I think it’ll help you understand him.” Asuma told her.

“Shogi…? Why…?” she asked, confused.

“When you play with him, you’ll see.” Asuma put simply.

“Alright. Take care of Ino and Choji then.” She said with a wave as she made her way to the Nara house.

The place was peaceful and serene. It had a pond with a fountain and the yard was covered in shade by the trees that lined the edges of their land. She looked at the porch and saw Shikamaru already there waiting. She stepped on the porch and took off her shoes to then sit across from him.

“Do you know how to play?” He asked. She nodded. “Good, because having to teach you would’ve been a drag… Also, way less fun.”

“I’m not very good though.” She warned.

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Shikamaru said while making the first move. They both played in silence with the only sound being heard was the waterfall from the koi pond and the clacking sound from the wooden tiles. Finally Shikamaru broke the silence. “You’re right. You aren’t very good.” He mentioned as she chuckled in response. “You don’t think far enough ahead… Maybe two three steps ahead at the most.”

“I never had to think further ahead. I wasn’t trained for it either.” She explained.

“What do you mean…? You’re a jonin, shouldn’t you know better?” He asked confused as he played his next move.

“The missions I used to go on before only involved very minimal information if any at all. I usually have no more than a name  _ or _ a location. If I’m lucky I’ll get both. The only times I get more information are usually when I have to infiltrate an unknown location, but the target is well known. Because of this, I never have enough information to plan so far ahead.” She explained further while making her next move.

“Makes sense given the way you play. You always seem to constantly be re-evaluating your plan and do well in the short term, but struggle in the long term causing you to continue to lose pieces.” He evaluated.

“I was also always alone on my missions.” She said cautiously.

“Hm…? That’s unusual but I don’t know much about Anbu tactics, so what do I know.” He contemplated while she made her next move.

“The advice I give you is this.” She began while he moved his next piece. “If you find yourself in a situation where there are too many unknowns, your job is to stall. With patience and keeping your best pieces hidden, you are able to learn enough about the opponent to then plan ahead to make the moves needed to achieve your mission.” She moved a piece to take out one of his more significant ones.

“I see…” He said taking it in and re-evaluating his strategy. After a minute or two he made his move. She managed to counter the move. Finally, she managed to corner him, but after he thought for a long while, it was one he was able to get himself out of.

“Oh well. I guess my intel wasn’t good enough.” She shrugged. She moved a piece, but his next move would be the final one as she had lost.

“I guess not.” Shikamaru agreed.

“So, the chunin exams are coming up. Are you thinking you might be ready to take them?” She asked him.

“Eh. It sounds like a drag. I’ll probably end up doing it though.” Shikamaru complained.

“Well it looks like you’ve got some tough competition, so make sure to train your body, not just your mind.” She advised.

“Yeah, yeah I’ll get to it.” Shikamaru scoffed.

“Is there anything else you wanted to talk about…?” She wondered. 

“Well… I saw you giving Ino advice the other day and it really helped out with her jutsu… I was wondering if you could give me any advice.” Shikamaru asked.

“Well… Honestly what I told her is stuff you probably already knew. It’s about visualizing the lengthening of your chakra to see the capacity of your jutsu extend in range.”

“Yeah… That I already knew.” Shikamaru sighed.

“Buuuuut… I can recommend some other tricks you learn to compliment your jutsu. Ideally you’d want to practice more stealth and concealment, since when you’re performing your jutsu, you yourself are left vulnerable to other’s attacks. If you manage to attack before they can detect your presence, then you aren’t nearly as vulnerable.” She advised.

“That’s not a bad idea. I never thought about it before because I always have Ino and Choji with me, but it would help for the chunin exams.” Shikamaru contemplated.

“Well if that’s all, I’ll be off.” She said getting up to leave.

Just as she started to walk away- “Kessho-sensei.”

“Hm?” She turned around.

“Thanks.” Said Shikamaru. She smiled, waved, and walked off.


	23. Bets lead to punches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> “It’s getting a little stuffy in here, isn’t it?” She complained. He looked at her now revealed chest for a moment and then turned to Anko who was watching him. That’s when it clicked. He just realized what she was doing, which was trying to get him to flirt with her to get Anko to spill so she could win the bet. Instantly he put on a sly smile and she knew it was on.
> 
> “So Anko, didn’t you say you were going to go find out about some guys that might be interested in Kessho or something?” Kakashi asked her to try to simulate interest.
> 
> “Oh! Right! I did ask around and there’s a couple other guys. There’s Raido, but that might cause problems with Genma and I know you still spar with him. Then there’s Aoba, which might be your type… But I don’t really know your type. What’s your type?” Anko gushed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The concept is that she has a libido that matches his... Which is high.... So yeah... 
> 
> Also grammar still bad.

She walked over to her place which wasn’t too far away from the Nara household. Now it was time to see what to wear for tonight. _The night Anko blabs and I win the bet_ she thought. _Now where is that dress…?_

She put on a red skater dress with a plunged neckline and off shoulder sleeves that covered her Anbu tattoo perfectly. With them a pair of black strappy heels and she put her hair in a ponytail and added a big red bow with a nice plump red lip to match. She pulled out a few loose hairs to frame her face, grabbed a leather jacket, and headed to the bar.

The crisp fall air was blowing against her cheeks making them cold and sending shivers down her spine causing her to close her jacket and she shoved her hands in her pockets to keep them warm. The leaves were starting to change color and waft through the air as she walked. When she turned the corner, she saw Kakashi just leaving his apartment complex. “Kakashi!” She called out.

He turned around to see where the voice was coming from, when he saw, he waved and waited. When she was close enough, he told her “Stunning as always.” With his closed eyed smile. Her cheeks were pink from the cold wind, but she swore they must’ve gotten a shade darker.

“And you are as sweet as ever.” She smiled. They walked closely together to the bar where everyone would be waiting. When they walked in everyone greeted and waved. “Heyyy Asuma!” She walked over to him and took his bottle of sake and sat down across from Kakashi.

“Hey! What the hell?!” Asuma shouted.

“You owe me from the bruise I had to cover up.” She said while taking a shot of his sake.

“Yeah well what about the bump on my head!” Asuma said while reaching over for the bottle while she pulled it away.

“Yeah well that may be true, but I also won the match soooo…” She smirked.

“Fine.” He grumbled. “Was a full bottle too.” he muttered while getting up to go buy another.

“So you’ve beaten both Guy and Asuma now?” Kakashi asked.

“Yeah but technically Guy is in the lead in our rivalry right now.” She told him.

“That’s right my rival we are currently at 6-4, but I’m confident that as formidable as a rival you are, you’ll catch up soon!” Guy smiled a toothy grin and gave a thumbs up with a wink.

“So that means Kakashi has to be next, right?” Anko joked.

“I don’t know. Kakashi, are you ready to take me on?” She flirted. She thought if she openly flirted, it might help Anko spill.

“We’ll have to see.” Kakashi narrowed his eyes a little.

_Dammit. Has he caught on to my plan so soon?_ She wondered.

“So Kessho, how was it with Shikamaru today?” Asuma asked.

“It was good. I lost though. Kid’s smart. He’ll be a great tactician one day.” She told him.

“Eh, don't feel too bad. There aren’t many that win against him at shogi. Hopefully you were able to give him some insight though.” Asuma commented.

“Oh yeah, I was able to get him to see the value in thinking and reassessing short term as well as long term especially when there’s lack of knowledge involved.” She said.

“Yeah that sounds like just what I expected.” He told her.

“So Kakashi.” She bit the side of her bottom lip. He looked at her and she brushed her calf against his. “Are you not going to drink anything?” She teased.

His eyes narrowed again; he hadn’t quite figured out her plan yet… But she could tell he was getting there. She poured herself a shot and drank it.

“I’m going to go get a beer.” He muttered while getting up. When he came back, she took off her jackets and started fanning herself.

“It’s getting a little stuffy in here, isn’t it?” She complained. He looked at her now revealed chest for a moment and then turned to Anko who was watching him. That’s when it clicked. He just realized what she was doing, which was trying to get him to flirt with her to get Anko to spill so she could win the bet. Instantly he put on a sly smile and she knew it was on.

“So Anko, didn’t you say you were going to go find out about some guys that might be interested in Kessho or something?” Kakashi asked her to try to simulate interest.

“Oh! Right! I did ask around and there’s a couple other guys. There’s Raido, but that might cause problems with Genma and I know you still spar with him. Then there’s Aoba, which might be your type… But I don’t really know your type. What’s your type?” Anko gushed.

She took another shot of sake and answered, “I don’t really have a type.”

“Everyone has a type. Anyways, I know for a fact that someone at this very table might be interested in you.” She mentioned while waggling her eyebrows.

“Oh really?” She asked with a smug tone.

“Guy is interested in Kessho?!” Kakashi exclaimed. Guy grew wide eyed and suddenly Anko slammed her fist on the table.

“Dammit guys! We know you two are dating, stop trying to hide it!” Anko shouted.

“Fuck!” Kakashi said while burying his head in his arms on the table, meanwhile she was laughing so hard she fell out of her chair. Kakashi stood up from the table to peek over at her. “Kessho, are you ok?”

“Yeah I’m fine.” She managed to get out between laughs. She looked up to Anko and saw a look of confusion and angry furrowed brows which caused her to laugh harder. She laughed until there were tears in her eyes and her stomach hurt. Kakashi sat back down in his seat. Finally, when she calmed down she turned to Anko and simply stated, “Kakashi and I made a bet to see how long it would take you to say something.” Anko punched her arm and reached over to punch Kakashi’s. She wiped a tear away and said, “Worth it.”

Anko continued to grumble and took another shot.

“Well now I can say congratulations Kakashi, but watch out, she’s feisty.” Asuma warned.

Kakashi chuckled, “You don’t think I’ve noticed by now?” Kakashi finished his second beer and turned to her. “You want anything?”

“I’m good.” she smiled as he got up to go to the bar.

Anko turned to her and commanded, “Ok so tell me **everything**.”

“Uh… I’m not sure…” She stammered.

“Ok, ok… How’d you meet?” Anko asked next. Kakashi joined, sitting back down, relieved the focus was not going to be on him.

“Ummm… Swimming?” She said hesitantly.

“Ok… So how long has this been going on?” Anko pryed.

“A while.” She answered, trying to be vague.

“Well then… Does he make you happy?” Anko questioned.

She looked at him to see that close eyed smile she loved so much. She turned to Anko and said, “Very.” She briefly placed her hand over Kakashi’s and gave him a quick squeeze.

“Awwww. Now the most important question… Is he good in bed?” Anko interrogated. She took the last shot from the bottle of sake and looked at Kakashi who looked like he wanted to hide.

“That’s enough Anko!” Kurenai stepped in for which she and Kakashi were both grateful for. “It’s a no wonder they tried to hide it from us.” They both mouthed a thank you to Kurenai.

Anko had the face of a scolded puppy and mumbled “Sorry.”

“Can you all please not go out announcing it to everyone and anyone? Neither of us really cares for the attention.” She asked and they all nodded. “Thanks.”

“Well nothing pleases me more than to see my two rivals enter into a journey together in the pursuit of young love!” Guy exclaimed with another toothy grin. They slowly started picking up conversations amongst themselves, while she turned to Kakashi.

“You ok?” He asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. Why do you keep asking me?” She retorted.

“Because you fell over earlier and you’re usually more composed at this state.” Kakashi sounded concerned.

She grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Kakashi I fell on my ass because I was laughing so hard. Nothing else. I’m fine. Really.” She reassured him and finished with a smile. “So how are your little ones doing?”

He took a big gulp of beer before finally saying, “They’re a lot. The rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke is brewing heavily and Sakura keeps finding herself between them to try and calm the two.”

“How’s Naruto’s chakra control?” She wondered.

“It got a little better, but I don’t know that he’s following your advice anymore now that he can climb the tree…” He commented.

“Ah… That’s a shame.” She said disappointed.

“How’s Ino?” He asked.

“She’s doing well actually. She managed to complete the mind transfer jutsu from quite a distance, but she still isn’t taking my advice on learning other methods of battle. She’s a stubborn one.” She ranted.

Kakashi finished his beer, squeezed her hand, and asked, “Are you ready to go?” She nodded and they both got up. “We’re heading out guys!” He told them as they both waved. She grabbed her jacket and put it on and closed the zipper.

When she walked outside she interlocked her arm through his and shoved her hand in her pockets. “It’s starting to get cold out.”

“Just a nice autumn breeze.” He told her, smiling.

“You like the cold, don’t you?” She narrowed her eyes.

“Well I kind of have to, it’s the temperature of my soul.” He joked which made her laugh.

“I don’t know, you might want to re-check because to me it looks like it’s melted and warm.” She teased.

“My soul melted?” He asked while looking down at his chest. “I should get that checked.” He said with his close eyed smile.

“That smile always makes me melt.” She commented lovingly.

“You should get _that_ checked.” He said nodding and still holding that same smile.

She laughed and pushed him a little before saying, “I’m serious… I love that smile.”

“How? You can’t even really see it.” He questioned while chuckling.

“I don’t need to see it, I feel it.” She said as they started walking up the stairs to his apartment. When they walked in, she took off her heels and hung up her jacket.

“I got you something.” He told her.

“What’s that?” She turned to him.

“Here.” He said while giving her a key. “Now you don’t need to wake me up in the morning.” He chuckled.

“Thank you.” She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She walked to the bedroom looking for his old sweatshirt that she would wear to sleep. Once she found it, she took off her dress and bra and put it on. She took off the bow and ponytail and let her long hair drape along her back. She could feel him watching her so she turned around to see him standing in the doorway. “I’m kind of really tired…”

“I am too. I just like to watch you. Sometimes it’s hard to believe you’re mine… That I actually have someone.” Kakashi admitted. Hearing those words made her feel… Pain for him. She knew he was too hard on himself. She walked towards him and grabbed his hands while looking into his singular uncovered eye.

“Kakashi… I know what I’m about to say might not change anything, and I know you won’t necessarily believe it, but I’m going to say it anyways. You are deserving of love. You deserve as much love as anyone else out there, if not more than that. I really wish you believed that.” She moved to take off his headband but he grabbed her wrist.

“I do too… But I don’t. You don’t know what has happened… What I’ve caused… Don’t you even care?” He questioned her while she pulled her wrist out of his grasp and placed it on his cheek.

“Of course, I do, but I know you’ll tell me when you’re ready. Even so, I’m not in love with some Kakashi from the past… I’m in love with the man you’ve become. The one here before me.” She could see he was still going through an internal struggle at her words. She moved to lower his mask and brought him in close for a loving kiss. She slowly took off his flak jacket, then his sweatshirt. She moved to help take off his pants and put them in the laundry basket. He wasn’t quite present, and she could tell. Turning off the lights in the bedroom, she pulled him to his side of the bed and motioned for him to get in. She tucked him in and motioned to remove his headband, but he grabbed her wrist to stop her again. After a moment passed, he loosened his grip and she continued to remove it and placed it on the nightstand beside him. Walking to the other side of the bed, she got in and curled up to Kakashi who had his back turned to her. It was her turn to be the big spoon and soothe him, so she wrapped one of her arms around him and nestled her head against his upper back entwining her legs into his. She reached over to try to find his hand, but found they were both placed under his face.

Instead, she gave him a tight squeeze and tried her best to soothe him with her words. “I love you Kakashi. You are worthy, and I’m not going anywhere.” She cooed before falling asleep.

* * *

When she woke up, it appeared neither of them had moved. He still seemed to be asleep, so she got up slowly and walked to the kitchen. When she got there, she set out to make his favorite breakfast. Luckily it didn’t take too long to finish making. She set the table for them both to eat but after waiting a moment, she could tell he wasn’t going to be joining her. She decided it best to eat without him. When she was finished, she went to go get dressed in her shinobi uniform. Afterwards she went to look for some scrap paper to write him a note.

> _My dearest star,_
> 
> _I made you breakfast, I already ate so please enjoy. If you want more, there’s some on the stove. I need to go speak with the Hokage, but later today. Please take care of yourself._
> 
> _Love,_
> 
> _Kessho_

The letter was left along side Kakashi’s breakfast. After she left she decided to make a quick stop before meeting with the Hokage. She made her way into the Yamanaka flower shop and saw Ino at the counter. “Oh hi Kessho-sensei! What brings you here?” Ino asked.

“I’m looking for flowers to bring to a grave. One that symbolizes strength and honor.” She told her.

“Oh, I have just the thing! Bring them a Gladiolus flower. How many?” Ino asked

“Just one is fine.”

“If that’s the case then just take it, as a thanks for all your help with my training!” Ino chimed.

“Are you sure? I can pay, really.” She insisted.

“It’s fine really!” Ino exclaimed. “Have a good day!”

She left and headed to the cemetery. When she got there, she felt a little lost, not quite remembering which way to go. After a bit of wandering, she managed to recognize the grave and sat down before it after placing the flower on the stone before her.

“I hope it’s ok I visit you… Even if it is a little awkward.” She suddenly felt a warm breeze that helped her feel at ease. “It’s about your son. I don’t know everything, but I can tell he’s been through a lot and I worry. He seems like he’s constantly punishing himself for things that happened in his past. I’m not quite sure how to help him… I just want to console him but it’s like the words I say are never enough and I never quite know what to do. It’s like… The more love I give him, the more his self-hatred and punishment grows because he feels he’s undeserving…? I don’t really understand it. I’m hoping you can watch over him. He seems to need all the help he can get… Because he is so deserving.

I’ve met a lot of men doing what I do, and I’ll admit most of them were bad of course because that was the job, but I met some good ones too and none were as caring or as gentle as the kind soul that is Hatake Kakashi and I just… I don’t know what to do.” She looked at her crossed legs and felt a tear slide down her cheek. “Just… Protect him… Please.”

With that she got up and left to head to the Hokage’s office. By the time that she gets there, Lord Third was in a meeting with someone else, which meant she had to wait. She sat across from the door and pulled out the new book she had bought. There were only a few chapters left, so might as well finish it.

When the door finally opened again she was just two pages shy of getting to the last chapter. She put the book away, got up, and walked into the room with the Anbu guards following quickly behind her.

“Leave her be.” the Hokage told them. “What do you want Kessho?” He asked as she locked the room behind the Anbu guards.

“I’m here to request re-deployment.” She requested.

“Really Kessho, I thought after a week you would’ve let this go.” He scolded

“Lord Third there’s something going on there and I know it!” She insisted.

“Kessho!” He yelled. Instantly the Anbu tried to come in, when they found the door was locked, they flickered in and she let herself be grabbed by them. “Release her. It’s fine.”

“Are you sure Lord Third?” One of the guards asked.

“I said it’s fine.” The Hokage insisted.

They released her and left closing the door behind them. There was silence before he spoke again. “You are under **my** command. **MY** orders. I have given you some leniency over the years because Konoha owes you a great deal of debt to your service. That being said **I** am still the one who gives orders around here. Orders that you are not to question. I value your opinion Kessho, I truly do, but you have crossed the line today. You are temporarily suspended from your position as an Anbu agent.”

“But Lord Third!”

“Kessho.” He said sternly. She quickly dropped it but clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white. “I am sorry Kessho, but this must be done. For now, you are to continue with Asuma. I think spending time with him and his students will do you good. You will be reinstated eventually, but for now this is your only duty. You are dismissed.” He said in a tone that finalized everything like a boulder that won’t budge. She immediately flickered out of there and into her office. This time she needed a weapon a little bigger to suit her rage, so she grabbed a sword and left for the gym. On her way there she realized that this wouldn’t quite cut it, so she changed directions and headed for the training grounds.

While walking there, she passed by Kakashi’s place and stopped. She tried her best to stuff her feelings down for a moment to check in on Kakashi. Using her new key that he had given her, she walked into the apartment. The table had been cleared of dishes and the note had moved but was left on the table. It didn’t look like he was home… She flickered her way to the nearest training ground.

Once there she pulled out her sword, used her sword and entered a fit of rage. Never in her 15 years of service had she been reprimanded like that. The Hokage always took her advice into much more serious consideration, and never once had she thought it possible to be suspended. Each word she said was a slice of her chakra lined sword against the wood as she replayed the whole thing in her head over and over. She only stopped when her chakra was nearly depleted and the sun was setting. On the ground she laid surrounded by all the trees she had cut exhausted and drenched in sweat with bruises and scrapes on her feet and fists. Once her breathing slowed to a steady pace, she got up and started to head back to Kakashi’s. Normally she would have gone back to her own home, but even as emotionally drained as she was, she still wanted to check on him.

As the sun set, the temperature started to drop, and her still wet clothes from all the sweat made her cold so she shivered as the breeze hit her. She could feel herself going to a dark place as she crossed her arms in attempts to stay warm. There was a certain feeling of being severed from the life she knew completely and having it feel like the final nail in the coffin of her new life. The Anbu wasn’t something she was ready to leave, no… it was something she didn’t _want_ to leave. In all honesty, she saw herself staying in the Anbu until she was forced to retire, or until that one faithful mission she just wouldn’t return from.

Walking into the warm apartment complex, the shivers finally faded. Once she made her way to his floor, she pulled out her key and opened the front door. He was on the couch reading his book.

“Oh hey… I was starting to wonder if you had just left off…” Kakashi said quietly.

“I won’t be leaving anytime soon. Nevermind that now.” Closed the door, took off her shoes and sat at the edge of the couch next to him. “How are you? She asked resting her head on his curled-up knees.

“I’m ok. Thank you for breakfast.” He half smiled. “So, you visited my dad…?” He questioned.

“Yeah, we’re best buds now.” She said flippantly to which he chuckled.

“So… Why aren’t you leaving anytime soon and what has you so exhausted?” Kakashi asked, now closing his book.

“Oh you know, I was just chopping some firewood for everyone in the village.” She joked.

“Ah so that’s what the sword is for.” Kakashi commented. “Kessho, really… Are you ok?” He put his hand on her back while she contemplated what to say.

“I was put on a temporary suspension from the Anbu.” She mumbled refusing to look him in the eye while she did.

“What?! Why? Wait… You know what. I bet that my tub is just barely big enough to hold us both in there… Why don’t I run a bath and then you can tell me?” He asked, cupping her cheek so that she met his gaze. She nodded and moved her head so he could get up. She placed her sword over by the entrance and went to the bedroom to get undressed putting her drenched clothes in the laundry basket. When she walked into the bathroom, she saw Kakashi already inside. “Come on.” He grabbed her hand and helped her in so he was cradling her with his arms wrapped around her. “Now tell me what happened.”

“Well, remember how I went to investigate the sound village and that there was something that didn’t sit right that I needed to go back and investigate. When I told the Hokage this last week, he told me to wait a week and that we would revisit it. I guess that was just some ploy to distract me or something? When I went back he said ‘I hope you would’ve dropped this by now’.” She ranted while he kissed her neck in loving reassurance trying to make everything ok.

He waited for her to continue. “When I protested about how I still think I should go, he suspended me saying that I’ve ‘crossed a line’ and how I’m ‘under his command’ and how I ‘can’t disobey him’.” She mocked.

He kissed her cheek and stayed silent for a moment contemplating whether he should say something. Eventually he mustered, “He’s right you know… He is your superior and you do need to accept what he says whether you like it or not…” He tensed up waiting for her to react.

She sighed. “You’re right. I know, he just usually takes my advice more seriously… He’s never disregarded me like that before.”

“Wait… You’ve never been reprimanded before… Have you?” Kakashi asked. “Aww little Kessho is getting her first punishment.” He teased while squeezing her and then kissing her cheek.

“Shut uuuuuup.” She grew a little annoyed, but he was also right about that.

“You’re cute when you’re angry.” Kakashi teased more.

“You did not just say that.” She hissed.

“I did what are you going to do about it?” He joked, flooding her cheek and neck with kisses. Overall, she felt much more at ease but there was still something she felt uneasy about. The silence settled and Kakashi placed his chin on her shoulder.

“I just… I don’t want to be done with Anbu…” She whispered her fears into reality.

“ _That’s_ what your worried about?” He said with genuine surprise. “Kessho… They’ll use you as Anbu as long as you allow yourself to. I haven’t seen you in action, but there’s times where you sneak up on me even when I was trying to detect you before you arrive… Kessho nobody can do what you do… I’m sure you’ll be back to work as soon something calls for it.” She could tell everything he said was what he truly believed. There was a wave of relief that passed through her as she sank into the tub under the water.

When she surfaced, she awkwardly moved her legs and body to face Kakashi. “Thank you.” She said hugging him tightly. “So when can I collect my bet?” She asked

“Dammit I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.” Kakashi mumbled.

“Of course, you were.” She commented, pulling back from the hug.

“How about tomorrow?” he asked.

“That sounds lovely.” She cooed before pulling him into a kiss. Their lips touched lightly and briefly, just a slight graze while hers then turned to a smile. “Ok now let's actually shower off and then I want to try something for you.”

“Ok…” He said hesitant but intrigued.

They both showered quickly although Kakashi got out sooner and waited for her on the bed while she washed her hair. When she got out she wrapped her hair in a towel after drying off. “Where’s the lotion?” She asked him.

“Lotion?” He countered trying to play dumb.

“Don’t be coy, you’re a man. Where’s your lotion?” He hesitated and eventually pulled the lotion out of his nightstand.

“Ok perfect, now lay on your stomach, I’m going to give you a massage.” She commanded.

“You know how to give a massage?” He questioned.

“I’ve had many disguises over the years.” She said straddling him and putting plenty of lotion on her hands. She started gently at the small of his back pushing her palms in on either side of his spine and pushed down and moving up along the spine. He groaned in satisfaction. She could feel the tension he carried, the tension of the whole leaf resting on his shoulders as she reached them. She took her index and middle finger to lightly rub the muscles from his shoulders to his neck, then slowly traced her hands back down. Next she pushed her thumb on the crevice between the spine and the back muscles from the small of his back up to his neck. After she rubbed in small circular motions using the top of her palms onto his shoulder blades then tracing with light pressure where the shoulder blades meet the back using her thumbs. Lastly she pushed with the bottom of her palms from the start of the spine outwards to the sides. “Now I’m going to do all of this again and I want you to tell me when the pressure is too much… Ok?”

“Mhm” was barely mumbled.

“Now as I start at the bottom of your back and move up, I want you to exhale, ok?” She said before starting again with more pressure. He let out a deep groan. She continued to do this adding more pressure after each round. Slowly after each round the muscles loosened little by little and Kakashi seemed to drift further and further into sleep. Once most of the tension was gone, she stopped as she knew that overworking them could cause them to become sore. She got up off of him and he turned to her looking so relaxed there was a little drool on his face.

“Mmmmmm that was nice.” He mumbled.

“I can see that.” she said while wiping the drool off of his face. She walked to the light switch to turn off the lights and she got into bed. He curled up to her, put his arm around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek before drifting asleep.


	24. Kakashi cleans up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> There was a knock at the door. “Kessho? Are you ok? You’ve been in there a while…” Kakashi mentioned. She looked at her fingers, they were all pruned. Must have been in there longer than she thought. Getting up quickly she turned off the water and covered herself with a towel and opened the door.
> 
> “Sorry about that. Just got lost in thought.” She smiled at him. She started to walk away but he placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. Without the thinking she put her hand on his to hold it there while she twisted herself contorting his body forward and twisting his arm. Once she saw him, she immediately let go and stepped back. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to I…”
> 
> “Kessho, it’s ok… We have those days sometimes… Can I hug you?” He asked. She nodded as he approached her and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s ok, I’m here.” He reassured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **** TW *****  
> Rape and pedophilia insinuation. Also PTSD.

_ Ok my hands are tied. Feel the knot, easy to break out of. Sun looks like it’s about to set, floors cold so probably fall, maybe 4pm. Looks like... Third floor based on window height… Exits… 5 of them. Who’s holding me? Mitsuo Sato from the sex trafficking ring. I was just used… Nevermind that now. Four men in the corridor including him. I need to find the man in charge, he’s supposed to be here in a couple days. He’s opening the door, lights are off in the room. There’s 13 women, oldest about 30 youngest about… 9… _

_ “You bastard.” _

_ He scoffed. He actually scoffed. Now the door’s closed and the room is black. _

She woke up with a jolt breathing heavily in Kakashi’s bedroom.  _ Just a nightmare. I’m safe, that wasn’t me. That was Midori Endo. I’m here in the present with Kakashi. I am Kessho Nakano not Midori Endo  _ she kept thinking to herself. Kakashi was still sleeping, she decided to go get dressed and go for a run to try and take her mind off of things. The sun hadn’t yet risen so the streets were still quiet. The best route for her to take at times like these was the one she always took, climbing the stairs of the faces of all the Hokages. She wanted to run away, run away from those feelings until they couldn’t reach her anymore. Run until her legs gave out. Run until the thoughts left.

Yet even when she ran all that and back and the sun was rising the thoughts still remained. She rushed inside tossing her shoes quickly making her way to the bathroom and taking clothes off as she went. The sound of water hitting the empty bathtub filled the bathroom. The water was cold when she got in, but it didn’t matter. She needed to be clean. She scrubbed and scrubbed until her skin turned red and even then it didn’t feel like enough, so she slid down and tried to go numb.

_ Why now? Why is this happening to me now? I don’t feel anything all these years and suddenly now it surfaces? I don’t understand. What is going on, what is happening to me? But that wasn’t me, it was Midori Endo. So then why does it matter? Why am I the one feeling? It wasn’t me, it was Midori Endo.  _ She thought.

There was a knock at the door. “Kessho? Are you ok? You’ve been in there a while…” Kakashi mentioned. She looked at her fingers, they were all pruned. Must have been in there longer than she thought. Getting up quickly she turned off the water and covered herself with a towel and opened the door.

“Sorry about that. Just got lost in thought.” She smiled at him. She started to walk away but he placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. Without the thinking she put her hand on his to hold it there while she twisted herself contorting his body forward and twisting his arm. Once she saw him, she immediately let go and stepped back. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to I…”

“Kessho, it’s ok… We have those days sometimes… Can I hug you?” He asked. She nodded as he approached her and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s ok, I’m here.” He reassured.

“I’ve never had this happen before. I’m usually fine with this stuff.” She stammered.

“Come on.” He moved to get on the bed and sit up and pulled her into an embrace. “We can stay here as long as you need, ok?” She nodded and moved to take her towel off and pull up the covers.

There was a feeling of vulnerability and loss of control rushing over her, but his strong arms surrounding her helped her feel safe. She looked up to him to see eyes so full of love and with that alone her muscles released some of her tension.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked softly. She pondered for a moment, but feared it would all come rushing back, so instead she settled on a happy medium.

“Do you remember that second time we saw each other… The mission that gave me the scar on my stomach?” She whispered. He nodded in response. “I had a nightmare about it.” He kissed the top of her head and waited if she wanted to say anything else. Still she said nothing more. After a good while, of feeling safe again, she felt ready to leave her bubble. She turned to him and said, “I think I’m going to go to the library.”

“Ok, but if you’re up for it, I made reservations at the kaiseki place here in town. If you’d rather not I’m sure I can change them.” He mentioned nervously.

“Oh! I almost forgot about that. Don’t change them. I’m sure getting all dolled up will cheer me up too.” She placed a hand on his cheek and kissed him. “Thank you.” She got up, got dressed, and teleported the notebooks she got from Itachi and placed them on his desk.

While she got dressed Kakashi picked up the notebooks and asked, “What are these?”

“They’re bargaining chips gifted from Itachi about research on Uchiha history and the sharingan.” She told him while finishing getting dressed.

“Why would he give you this?” He questioned.

“Well for starters I found it. When I told him I had it he said I could keep it if I kept his location hidden, which I have.” She explained. “I’m going to head out. What time are the reservations?”

“They’re at 6.”

“Alright, I’ll meet you there.” She kissed his cheek and made her way to the library.

The sun warmed the otherwise cool autumn air. The sun felt so warm against her skin. The walk was enjoyable, watching kids run playing tag on the street, some mothers gossiping on the doorstep, and the smell of food as she passed… This was her new home… It felt odd to think of it that way. To her it still felt too surreal.

Walking into the library, she looked for a small table hidden away in a corner to place her things on. Then she went looking for whatever books contained information about the sharingan or this Maadara person. On the public shelves she managed to find around three books, one on Kekkei genkai, one on the history of the village, and one more specifically about the Uchiha clan. With that she went back to sit down and start researching.

There was a stomach growling… When she looked down, she realized it was her own. There was still some time before the date, but she thought it best to make sure she doesn’t get lost in the books this time and make her way back to her house to find a kimono for their date. She grabbed her notebooks and things, along with the books she had taken. There was a rack with books to be reshelved she saw on her way out and decided to place the books there.

When she stepped out of the library, the warmth the sun brought was leaving along with it. The children had gone inside, the women were no longer on the doorstep. The streets weren’t empty, but rather held a different crowd. They were people around her age, all roaming around either in groups or as couples, going out and having their fun. She grew… Hopeful… of what the night to come would bring.

When she finally made it home, the sun had fully set. She placed the notebooks on her coffee table and headed to her closet. Ruffling through the clothes, she laid eyes on a red silk kimono with a large white lotus embroidered on the back. She got undressed and slipped on the kimono and paired with a simple red obi tied in a bow at the back. Grabbing her long hair, she twisted it into a bun and added a white lotus pin. She did her usual make up and put on her tabi socks and some wooden zori and made her way out.

When she approached, she saw Kakashi from a distance, but he hadn’t noticed her yet. The sight of him made her stop for a moment to take it all in.  _ Of course, he’s still wearing his undershirt mask under his kimono _ she chuckled to herself. His kimono was a simple powder blue matched with a navy-blue obi. When looking closer, she saw the Hatake clan symbol embroidered on it, she smiled. He looked so handsome even if his hair was covering half of his face still leaving the singular eye visible.

When she finally approached him he teased, “Seriously Kessho, being late is supposed to be my thing.”

“Well I mean, if you don’t want me to look this good I could come sooner.” She countered.

“Well when you put it that way… I suppose it could be your thing too.” He smiled until his eyes closed.

They walked into the restaurant where the waitress led them to a small table near the back. She took the seat facing the entrance, he took the seat facing away from everyone. They were quickly served their Sakizuke.

“I preordered everything… I hope that’s ok.” He smiled as he pulled down his mask.

“It’s cute.” She smiled as he turned a light shade of pink. They both took a shot of sake and began to eat.

Once finished, he asked, “How was the library?”

“Good. I learned a lot, but I didn’t quite find what I was looking for.” She mentioned.

“Oh? Just what were you looking for?” He asked, intrigued.

“I’m not quite sure… But so far everything points to the original owner of those notebooks chasing ghosts… But when I met him, he seemed to have found the ghost… So, I’m missing some piece of the puzzle. Quite frankly, I’m not sure I’ll find that puzzle piece either.” She explained.

“I see.” He contemplated. “Why are you interested in the sharingan anyways?”

“I just think it’s interesting. It’s complicated and shows a lot of different abilities between those who use it.” She shrugged.

“So your bookworm interests aren’t just about the novels we read then?” He said playfully.

She chuckled, “No. Actually you remember our first date?” He nodded. “I was late because I was researching the same thing.” She chuckled.

“Is that so?” He smiled. “Maybe you can show me your findings sometime.”

“You really want to hear me ramble about how the different neurological connections to the optic nerve can give rise to the different abilities of the sharingan?” She questioned in disbelief.

“I have a feeling I’ll only get the gist… But I think I’ll enjoy watching you talk about it.” He chimed and reached over to grab her hand to give a gentle squeeze. The waitress brought over the namato and left.

“This looks really good.” She commented before taking a bite.

“I had heard nice things about this place, but dressing up to come here? Especially alone… “ He groaned while she laughed.

“Thank you for doing this.” She smiled.

“Of course.” He smiled back.

“So are you going to submit your team to the chunin exams?” She asked while pouring them both some sake.

“Yeah. I think they still need some work, but they’re mostly ready.” He admitted before taking a sip of his sake. 

They continued with small talk about the chunin exams, Anko, and how Kakashi’s students would do. The waitress brought over their mukozuke by the time they finished sipping their sake. The rest of their meal continued in the same light hearted manner of enjoying their meal, sipping sake, and having idle conversation. By the time they left their cheeks were both rosy from the alcohol and there were smiles across their faces.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” He asked.

“That sounds really nice, but I was thinking. Maybe we can go to my place? It’s secluded and I just set up a little table and some chairs in my garden.” She suggested.

“That sounds perfect.” He told her.

After a block or two on their way to her house, they saw Anko stumble out of a bar.

“Well I didn’t want any more whiskey anyways!” the purple haired dynamo shouted before turning to see her and Kakashi. “Oh hey guys! Don’t you two look cute!” Anko stumbled over to them while they tried to keep the pace they had. They looked at each other knowing this was not going to be ideal. “Woah Kakashi, you clean up nice… Now I see what Kessho sees in you! Wait... were you two on a date?” Anko slurred. “Where are you two headed?”

“We’re going back to my place.” She answered quickly with Anko following alongside them.

“Oh I see.” The dynamo said while elbowing her and snickering. “Gotta get that bom-chika-wow-wow in.” Anko waggled her eyebrows.

“Anko where do you live?” she asked.

“Oh… I’m not telling you until you tell me where you live. I barely know anything personal about you.” Anko pouted and folded her arms under her chest. 

_ Of all times to stand her ground and demand info, this is when…?  _ She shook her head. “Do you know where Kakashi lives?” Anko nodded. “Ok well why don’t you tell Kakashi where you live then instead of me.” She suggested.

Anko closed one eye and looked around before pointing, “Over there! That’s where I live.”

“Alright Anko, we’re going to walk you home.” Kakashi told Anko.

_ Well this could’ve been worse. Nothing wrong with an entertaining detour I suppose. _

* * *

She turned off the kettle and brought it out to the garden where Kakashi was waiting for her while he watched the moon.

“There was a time when I was with Itachi on an escort mission in the Anbu and I told him ‘Them down there basking in the light of the sun enjoying their food, while the Anbu hides in the shadows and eats food pills.’ I don’t think I’ve ever been able to find a better way to describe the Anbu than that.” Kakashi spoke while she poured him his tea. “You really didn’t need to use fancy tea cups.”

“Well we were already dressed up, and I doubt I’ll use them much, so I figured why not.” She smiled. “So you had recently gotten out when we first met, right?”

His mouth opened slightly but he quickly settled down, “Picked up on that did you?”

“I’m good at what I do.” She mentioned before taking a sip. “How long were you in for?”

“10 years. You?”

“About 16 now…” she looked up to the moon. It was a waning crescent, a moon that would get darker as it went on, just like the conversation seemed it would. Kakashi’s eyes grew wide.

“So during the last great war…?” he asked.

“Yup. My first mission as a test was to infiltrate and gather intel on their next planned route attack which ended up being Kannabi Bridge.” She reminisced. Kakashi tensed up and seemed to go somewhere else though still managed to keep a firm grip on the tea he was holding. “You ok?”

“Kannabi bridge…” He whispered.

“We can talk about something else if-“

“No.” He placed his teacup on the table and looked at his lap. She placed her tea cup down and leaned over to grab his hand.

“Hey… Whatever it is, it’s ok.” She squeezed trying to reassure him.

“I think it’s time to tell you about… Obito.” Kakashi spoke about the friends that didn’t start as friends he had at the academy. How Obito was always running late when they joined up together in a team under Minato. He spoke about how they all took the bell test together, which is why he still does it now. Kakashi then told her about the story of Kannabi bridge. It wasn’t the one she knew about the brave young soldiers, but rather one of pain and loss. About how a recently named jonin was declared captain of their team, how they were ambushed by two men and one of his comrades was taken captive. He spoke Obito’s words “Those who break the rules are  **scum** , but those who abandon their friends are worse than  **scum,”** and how those words stayed with him to this day. How Obito gave his life for Kakashi’s and gave him his eye, and how he made a promise to keep their friend Rin safe. He didn’t discuss who Rin was, but she could tell that would be a story for another time.

“Kakashi…” She moved her chair next to his. He had his elbows on his legs and his face in his hands, so she sat next to him and rubbed his back to soothe him. There was uncertainty as to whether there would be any words, she could say would change anything he feels. Even then there was one thing she must let him know. “I’m right here… I’m not going anywhere. Come on, let's go inside.” She said getting up and holding out her hands in front of him. He took them and got up as he followed her to her bedroom. She took off her socks and slid off her Kimono and hung it up in the closet. After she wiped her face and took the pin out of her hair. Turning to Kakashi, he seemed immobile standing in the middle of the room. She helped him out of his Kimono, and hung it up for him.

“Do you want anything before getting into bed?” She asked him, but he shook his head in response. She walked over to fluff the pillows one behind the other so she could sit up, and motioned for him to join her. He crawled into bed and rested his head on her chest. She wrapped her arms around him and brushed her fingers up and down his arm. “Kakashi… I don’t know that there’s anything I can say that will change how you feel… But I’m going to speak my mind. These might be things you’ve heard before, and you can tune them out if you want… But if there’s a chance I can get through to you, I’m going to take it.

“What happened to you really fucking sucks. It’s shitty and nobody should have to go through that. You were so young… But you also didn’t know what you were doing, Kakashi. This isn’t your fault. You had no way of knowing that’s what would’ve transpired. You need to stop blaming yourself Kakashi…”

“You’re right I have heard all of that before…” He said dryly, with numbness consuming him.

“Then how about this… You are beloved…” She could feel him grasp onto her arm ever so slightly at hearing those words. “Not just by me, but your friends. You’re not alone anymore.” He nestled in further. “You’re not some dark cold Anbu agent anymore. That’s my job, not yours.” He let out a small chuckle at the words he seemingly needed to hear.

“Thank you.” He looked up at her. She saw that there was a wet spot on the top corner of his mask. She lowered to give him a kiss on the forehead.

“You are loved, Kakashi. Please try not to forget that.” She reassured him. “Now, let's go to bed.” She told him while getting up to turn off the lights. After removing her bra, she got into the bed and they laid facing each other.

“How old were you when you graduated from the academy? Wait… Did you graduate from the academy?” He asked suddenly.

“I was 7 when I graduated from the academy.” She answered.

“Wait so you're two years younger than me?” His eyes had widened a little.

“Just about.” 

“Huh… And then you were recruited right after that?”

“Yup.”

“You must’ve trained under Minato some as well, right?” He inquired.

“Yeah. You know the teleportation thing I do, to bring stuff here to me?” She questioned.

“Yeah, what even is that? How does it work?” He asked with curiosity in his tone.

“Well it’s a variation of Lord Fourth's flash jutsu. Everything I transport must have my little seal thing. Originally, he taught me the flash thing because he thought it would be useful if I ever had my cover blown and needed a quick escape. Since I was a kid, I complained about carrying these things around, that I needed less to make less noise and not be detected, so he helped me develop this variation.” She explained. 

“Huh… That’s kind of genius.” He turned to look up at the ceiling. “So you never knew about the foundation then?”

“Oh I know about them… But I was never trained under Lord Danzo if that’s what you’re referring to.” She told him. “Also they really need better security there.”

“Wait, you snuck in?” He asked bewildered.

“Yeah” She yawned. “I mean, you guys don’t conceal your identities too well, so it’s not like it’s hard to follow you guys until something slips up.” He chuckled while she nestled into his chest and they held each other as they fell asleep.


	25. Red Silk Kimono

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> When she woke up, she could hear clamoring in the kitchen. She put on her bra and slid on the Kimono she had been wearing the previous night but this time didn’t bother to close it. Creeping around the corner she leaned up against the far wall with direct line of sight into the kitchen. One of the shoulders of her kimono fell, as she folded her arms under her chest, put her weight on one leg and crossed the other. Kakashi was in the kitchen making… hard boiled eggs. It seems to be one of the few things he can cook well. There was also rice? And miso soup. He seemed to be in his own world, humming along to some song. There might’ve even been some dancing mixed in which made her chuckle.
> 
> “Oh you’re awake.” He turned in surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So at risk of dating myself, the song is buttons from the Pussy Cat Dolls.

When she woke up, she could hear clamoring in the kitchen. She put on her bra and slid on the Kimono she had been wearing the previous night but this time didn’t bother to close it. Creeping around the corner she leaned up against the far wall with direct line of sight into the kitchen. One of the shoulders of her kimono fell, as she folded her arms under her chest, put her weight on one leg and crossed the other. Kakashi was in the kitchen making… hard boiled eggs. It seems to be one of the few things he can cook well. There was also rice? And miso soup. He seemed to be in his own world, humming along to some song. There might’ve even been some dancing mixed in which made her chuckle.

“Oh you’re awake.” He turned in surprise.

“So are you.” She smiled while he turned off the stove. He began walking toward her while she straightened herself up. Arm wrapped around her waist going under the kimono. While he gave her a kiss on the cheek, she could feel him pressing into her causing her to let out a subtle moan. She went to put her arms around his hips, but Kakashi quickly grabbed both her wrists and pinned them to the wall behind her.

She playfully stuck her hips out to press against him, but he growled in her ear “Later.”

“Boo...” She whined while he released her and went back to the kitchen. She went to her room to look in her closet. While there she pulled out some navy blue sweatpants that were a little big on her and went to give them to Kakashi. “They should fit, but they’ll be a little short on you.”

He slipped them on and indeed they fit, but only went down to the middle of his calves, so instead he pushed them up so they were below the knee. “Thanks, now I don’t have to wear that Kimono while jumping home.”

“It’s not as hard to do as it sounds.” She commented. 

“Of course, that’s something you’ve done.” He chuckled.

They both sat to eat breakfast while enjoying some lighthearted chatter. Shortly after Kakashi put his undershirt back on, grabbed his clothes, and kissed her cheek. “Save that for later…” He said pointing to the outfit before he left. She cleared the table, got dressed and ran to meetup with team Asuma.

By the time she got there they had already started.

“Were you ever on time before meeting Kakashi?” Asuma chuckled while he smoked a cigarette and watched the team train.

“With my previous position, I didn’t really run on a schedule so I can’t really answer that.” She smirked.

“I see. So then things are still going smoothly?” He asked.

“Yeah… They are.” She contemplated.

“What’s wrong? You hesitated there for a second.” He turned to her.

“Well what you told me last time you spoke about Kakashi and I… About how you hope we are bringing each other up instead of down… I’ve been thinking a lot about it. I think we are bringing each other up. Yet still, there’s a lot there for us to bring each other down with…” She thought out loud.

“I see… Well I know  _ he _ has a dark past… You having been in the Anbu I’m sure you have your fair share of scars that aren’t just physical like the one on your stomach. It’s only natural that you both have a lot to discuss, a lot of which is going to be dark. He  _ is _ talking to you isn’t he?” Asuma asked, pulling out another cigarette for himself and offering one to her. She accepted. Once he lit hers up she took a long drag.

“Yeah he is. It took him a while… But he’s told me two stories so far.” She told him exhaling the drag.

“You can tell me which ones, I know what has happened.” Asuma replied.

“He told me about his dad, and last night I learned about Obito.” She said quietly. “Thing is with my scars... I’ve been able to keep them bound and hidden away, even from myself, but it seems the bandages are starting to fall off for me and I’m just now seeing the extent of my wounds.” She explained before taking another long drag.

“Well, maybe it’s for the best that it’s happening now that you have someone to support you.” Asuma pondered.

“I just hope we don’t bring each other down.” She worried.

“I’ve been watching you two… And I don’t think you will… But keep working towards not doing it, otherwise you surely will.” He said before taking a drag. She nodded and took a drag herself.

“So what about you and Kurenai?” She teased.

“Oh you saw that, huh?” He rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, you’re into her then?” She asked him. 

“Doubting your abilities?” He joked.

“Well although I’m 99% sure, I can’t read your mind, so I suppose there’s a tiny chance I’m wrong.” She said before taking her last drag.

“99%, you’re that confident?” Asuma asked.

“That  _ skilled. _ ” She corrected. He nodded, “Aw come on, admit it!” She elbowed him.

“Alright, alright. Yeah I’m into her. I think I always have been, but lately we’ve been… I don’t know, it’s probably all in my head.” Asuma admitted.

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” She told him.

“Really?” He went into thought.

“So ask her out!” She suggested.

“I don’t know… She’s one of my best friends, and I don’t want to ruin things on a whim.”

“I understand.” The three genin suddenly started fighting. “Should we step in?” She asked him.

“Give them a minute.” He instructed while they continued to fight. Just before Ino was about to hit Choji, Asuma stepped in and she followed quickly after.

“Alright Ino, you need to cool down, come with me, we’ll spar.” She said while dragging Ino away. “Seriously Ino, you can’t afford to have fights like these breaking out in the middle of a battle.”

“Yeah but I can’t help that boys are so stupid!” Ino fought.

“Ino… I have bad news… They don’t get smarter, so you’re going to need to figure something out.” She warned.

“Hmph!” She pouted.

“Come on, if you can land a punch while I read, or make me put my book down, I’ll buy you ice cream.” She suggested.

“Alright.” Ino gave in. It took nearly all day, but eventually Ino landed a punch. They waved goodbye to the others and went into town to find an ice cream shop.

“Your taijutsu is getting better.” She commented while walking with her hands in her pockets.

“Why are you helping me so much?” Ino asked.

She stayed silent in thought for a moment before answering, “Well I suppose I see a little of myself in you.” She admitted.

“Do you think that one day I can be as skilled as you?” Ino fawned.

She awkwardly rubbed her arm and smiled hesitantly, “Maybe. But you need to collaborate more with your teammates as your strength lies with them. Your hidden jutsus leave you vulnerable, so you need to rely on them to protect you, and you can’t do that if you’re fighting all the time. You also need to practice your taijutsu more.”

“Why are you always pushing taijutsu on me?!” Ino shouted. “Maybe I’m just not good at it!”

She chuckled. “Do you want to participate in the chunin exams?” She asked. Ino nodded in response. “Well when you guys get far enough, you will be placed to fight in one to one combat. If you don’t have your team there to protect, you need to be able to fend for yourself, don’t you?”

“I guess you’re right…” Ino admitted while still pouting.

“I’m not going to make you do anything that doesn’t have a reason behind it. I have faith that you can be a great shinobi one day… But you won’t get there if you don’t work for it.” She warned walking into the ice cream shop. Ino nodded.

“I will work hard, please keep training me Kessho sensei.” Ino pleaded and she nodded in response.

“Order up you’ve earned it.” She told Ino.

“One scoop of black sesame please!” Ino pleaded.

“One vanilla.” She asked before paying.

“Kakashi sensei are you even listening!” She heard Naruto’s voice shout. They must be at Ichiraku ramen.

_ Wait… I have an ice cream cone… And Kakashi is just over there… Ohhhhhh this is going to be fun. _ She thought with a devilish grin growing across her face. She walked over to the shop where Ino quickly joined Sakura. Once in there she rested against the wall with one arm under her chest and the other holding the cone that she was licking.

“Treating your students to some ramen, Kakashi?” She asked in a lowered voice before flicking off some ice cream with her tongue.

“Oh Kessho-“ He started watching what she was doing and went back to reading his book, or rather,  **trying** to. “Yeah, Naruto begged for some ramen and they did pretty well so I figured I’d treat them.”

Lick. Lick. Lick.

“Oh that’s nice of you.” She said before tilting her head and licking all around twisting the cone for one long lick. Kakashi gulped watching out of the corner of his eye heat rising to his cheeks. “So are you going on any missions this week?”

“Probably just the usual D-ranked missions.” Kakashi mustered to say in a non-chalant tone.

“Aw come on not more D-ranked missions! Can’t we at least get some C-ranked ones?!” Naruto complained.

“Now, Naruto, every mission is important, and you must follow the Hokage’s orders. You don’t want him angered… Trust me.” She finished bitterly before turning back to Kakashi.

Lick. Lick. Lick.

“Man sneaky-sensei! You’re sure enjoying that ice cream.” Naruto commented.

“I am.” She smirked at Kakashi who was steadily watching her through the corner of his eye.

“Stop butting into adult conversations!” Sakura shouted before hitting Naruto.

The top scoop of the cone was finished so now she started to use her tongue to dig out the ice cream from inside the cone.

“Do you have any missions this week?” Kakashi asked.

“Not sure, but I think I might try and find one for them. I have a meeting tomorrow with the Hokage.”

“Oh?” he asked, likely wondering if it was about her suspension. She shook her head.

“It’s about the chunin exams.” She corrected while he nodded. She continued to dig deeper into the cone with her tongue and thought she was him squirm a bit. He crossed his legs.

_ Ohhh… This is working beautifully  _ she thought.

He paid for the ramen, got up and placed one hand next to her head and pressed into her.

_ Oh he’s hard alright _ she tried her best to stifle a smirk and look serious.

“Your place. Tonight. In that kimono. Leave it open or I might tear it off.” He growled before walking off. She tried to sneak a peak of his hard on but it seems his loose pants hide it well despite his… Girth. When she motioned to leave Ino followed.

“What was that about? It looked intense.” Ino asked, doing her best trying to sound innocent.

“It’s about some upper level jonin stuff. We have an important mission to do later.” She told her while shoving her hands in her pockets and using her most serious tone.

“Oh… Is it serious? Is the leaf going to be ok?” Ino interrogated.

“It is serious, but it’s nothing Kakashi and I can’t handle. I’m sorry but there’s nothing more I can tell you.”  _ Technically all of this is true. The best lies are the ones with the most truth in them.  _ She thought to herself.

Ino nodded before running off to rejoin Sakura.

* * *

There were a few candles lit and the lights had been dimmed while resting on the couch with the red kimono draped loosely over her skin. She was wearing a red lace bra underneath and some lace red underwear to match with a loose bun at the top of her head. While she waited, she was reading the latest dirty romance novel she had picked up. There was a light thud on the roof; Kakashi must’ve just landed.  _ Right on time _ she thought, though she did not stop reading. He walked in through the door that she left open and while he closed it behind him. She could feel him standing there watching her, but she ignored his presence and simply crossed her legs showing off her matching red strappy heels.

“Get up.” He commanded. She gracefully closed her book, set it down on the coffee table, and got up. Walking towards him, she made sure to sway her hips with every step she took.

“Why are you wearing so many clothes?” She teased resting a few fingers on his shoulder while giving him a sultry look and leaning her head back to expose her neck.

Without saying anything, he walked over to the kitchen, grabbed a chair, and dragged it to the living room. He sat down with his legs wide open. “Dance.” He commanded.

Swaying her hips, she grabbed his shoulder and leaned over to him. Her lips were close enough to his ear to graze when she spoke. “The teasing earlier wasn’t enough for you?” She whispered. Smirking she straightened up to see his face, but it was unchanged. Instead he folded his arms across his chest as if he was waiting. “Strip to your undershirt and pants… I want you to feel my skin pressed against you.”

He narrowed his gaze which she reciprocated. After a moment, he obliged by taking off his clothes and his headband, and tossed them on the couch and sat back down. “Dance.” He commanded again. She walked over to the stereo resting on top of the bookcase and put on the song ‘Buttons’ by the Pussycat Dolls.

She walks up to him slowly to the rhythm of the beat and starts pacing around him. She stops behind him, reaches her leg around his shoulder, and places her heel onto the edge of the chair between his legs and let the kimono drape down her thigh.

_ I’m telling you to loosen up my buttons, babe _

She leaned down and brushed her chest from one of his shoulders to the next. Moving her leg back she spun and twisted to his other side and straddled one of his legs rolling her body against his chest as his hand rested on the back of her thigh. At this point she undid her bun and let her hair drape all the way down to her ass.

_ I’m telling you to loosen up my buttons, babe _

She spun around and straddled his other leg and faced away from him. Placing her hands on his knee, she bent over moving her hips in a smooth motion, she could feel him put one hand on her ass and start to lift up the kimono little by little.

_ Typical and hardly the type I fall for _

Spinning again, this time she stopped away from him and in between his legs snapping down and facing the floor only to whip her hair up. Slowly as she got up she felt herself from her heat with her hands moving to either hip and slowly tracing upwards. When she got to her chest she cupped her breasts and spread her legs at the same time.

_ I’m a sexy mama _

She did a split down to the floor and slowly crawled making sure to spread her legs and thrust against the floor each pace she made towards him.

_ You been saying all the right things all night long _

Placing her hands on his thighs she used them to slowly push herself up. As she did so her body was slithering like a snake while also making sure to have her mouth graze his pants, then her chest, then her hips as she stood up. While she was doing this she made sure to study his face and his eyes were gleaming with desire and the sharingan was busy committing every slight movement of hers to memory. She also felt the desire by the hands he placed on her body as she slowly got up.

_ Baby can’t you see _

She this time she straddled him, arched her chest leaning back and let the kimono fall from her shoulders to which she then tossed aside.

_ How these clothes are fitting on me? _

Her hips ground against his in a circular motion for each verse while lowering his mask to watch him more easily.

_ I’m about to blow, I don’t think you know _

She lifted her right leg and spun off of him standing up on his right side. Strutting over facing away from him she stood between his legs.

_ I’m telling you to loosen up my buttons, babe _

Dropping down between his legs, she slowly moved up with her hips shaking to the rhythm of the song feeling herself as she did so. Lost in her own movements she stood back and proceeded to roll her body in rhythm while continuing to feel herself up.

_ You say that you’re a big boy, but I can’t agree _

Strutting over to him, she turned away from him and bent her knees to match her ass with the level of his groin. Placing her hands on his knees, she spread her legs and moved her hips in a circular motion against him. She could feel how hard she had already made him and his hands slowly creeping to her inner thighs. Rolling her head to the side, she let out a subtle moan causing him to lean in and kiss her neck. She sunk into the floor in front of her to get away.

_ Baby can’t you see _

Crawling again, but this time away from him, for every verse she made sure to thrust against the floor but to also make sure to pop her booty out for his viewing pleasure.

_ I’m telling you to loosen up my buttons, babe _

On the floor still, she spun down to lay on her back before him. She rested her legs straight on the ground, lifted them up, and split them into a v. Running her hands between her legs up, she could feel just how wet she was and she knew there was no hiding it from him. She closed her legs and tucked them to the side, arched her back, and slowly used her core to pull herself up. Turning to the side, she got on all fours, quickly pushed her legs up with her hands still on the ground and whipped her hair back.

_ Now you can get what you want, but I need what I need _

Spinning to face him, she bent to a crouch and spread her legs feeling herself again before bouncing a few times. She took this time to watch his face. There was almost a scowl on it. But it was one filled with animalistic lust and desire. His knuckles had grown white from having his fists clenched trying to contain himself. There had never been a more devilish grin that grew on her face, as she reached back to her bra to take it off.

_ Breathy breakdown _

She put the bra in her mouth and carried it with her teeth crawling back to him in the same manner, this time with her nipples hardening at the touch of the cold wood floor.

_ I’m telling you to loosen up my buttons, babe _

Putting her hands on his thighs she used them again to slowly push herself up, this time with her bare breasts brushing up against him. She lifted her leg to move to straddle him and doing the same immediately with the other. Thrusting her hips against his and arching her back, she rolled her head back and held herself up with his knees. His calloused fingers traced down from her neck to her chest, to her stomach, as she continued to thrust her hips against his. She put one arm behind his neck as the song finished and pulled herself up to meet his gaze.

“Finally” He growled before smashing his lips against hers in a sense of utter desperation. Gripping both of her thighs, he lifted her and took her to the bedroom dropping her on the bed. Quickly, he undressed completely while she took off her heels but left her underwear on. While he crawled on to her, she could see him study every portion of her skin. He stopped at her breasts and sucked on one nipple while pinching the other causing her to arch her back and moan in pleasure. Putting one of her hands through his hair, she gave a slight tug. He blew on her skin as he rose up to her face and began kissing her jaw before settling on her lips. One of his hands roamed down the side of her body going to her hips and moving inward between her thighs. “You’re so wet” He whispered in her ear while feeling her.

“Kakashi” She moaned. Hearing that she felt his hardness rubbing against her thigh as he moved her panties to the side and plunged two fingers into her. She yelled out in pleasure and his eyes widened. “Don’t worry… My neighbors are far… We can yell all we want.” She panted out before giving him a devilish grin. His pace quickened at the thought, and her moans got louder.

“You’re close… Aren’t you?” He growled with his breath brushing against her ear sending goosebumps down her spine.

“Mhm” She whined.

“When you come, I want you to scream my name.” He demanded.

“KAKASHI!!!” She yelled as she came and the wave of pleasure rushed through her. Pulling his head to hers she kissed his lips passionately. There was a want, a need in the air around them as she pushed her body more into his. Pulling her underwear off she was able to feel it now, his hardness pressed against her, begging to be let in.

Without breaking the kiss, he lined himself up against her and slowly pushed in where they both moaned in unison. She could feel him stretching her, making her feel so full. Clenching down on his girth she heard him moan “Fuuuuuuck Kessho… How are you always this tight?” Her lips curled up into a devilish smile as she clenched as hard as she physically could muster. The groan that came out was something from deep down within him as she felt him pull in and out slowly as with her grasp he couldn’t go any faster. “Fuuuuuuuck Kessho… If you keep doing this I’m going to come too quickly.”

She let out a chuckle between moans. “Are you complaining?” She teased.

“Fuuuuuuck no… Buuuuuut I want you to cum again.” He managed to speak. She slowly released her grip on his length. He lowered down and whispered in her ear, “I’ll let you know when to do that again.” He kissed her cheek and pulled back and lifted her leg up to rest against his chest to get deeper into her as his pace quickened.

She reached down and started rubbing her clit desperate for release while he played with her nipple. Quickening his pace, he let out deeper grunts as she arched her back in pleasure. She could feel the heat pulling down as she was getting closer.

Without any signals, he stopped, pulled out, flipped her over, and pulled her hips up causing her to get on all fours. He lined himself up again and inserted himself into her, his girth going deeper and quicker yet. Her arms grew weak and gave in from the pleasure which left her at an angle that allowed him to go even deeper. She rested her head on the bed and used one of her hands to rub herself.

“Fuuuuuuuck Kessho, do it.” He commanded in a growl at the end. She could feel herself getting close as well as she clenched down on him as tightly as she could. With that they both reached their ecstacy. He continued to slowly give a few final thrusts while she refused to let go trying to milk him for everything he was worth. When he finally pulled all the way out, he collapsed next to her. “You gonna just stay like that…? Butt in the air?”

“Yup.” She told him while he laughed.

“Why?” He asked while still laughing.

“Because I’m enjoying my bliss.” She answered dreamily.

“OK.” He rolled his eyes.

“If you want, you can wash your clothes so you don’t have to rush back to your place in the morning.” She suggested.

“I think I’ll do that, thanks.” He said while getting up. She thought about staying in that position until he got back, but she remembered there was something she wanted to give him.

Getting up, she walked over to the front door and reached to a keyholder on the wall by the door, pulling a lonely key ring with a single key. She walked over to Kakashi and held out the key to him, “The bottom two drawers in my bedroom are also free for you to use.” She smiled.

He walked over to her cupped her cheek and gave her a gentle kiss. “Thank you Kessho.” He reached to his stomach rubbing it. “I’m kind of hungry…”

“I have some left over yakimono in the fridge that I can heat up in the toaster oven.” She suggested.

“Yakimono?” His eyes grew wide with excitement. She chuckled and went off to the kitchen to warm up the yakimono. She grew goosebumps on her shoulders, but after a moment she felt Kakashi drape her Kimono around her. “You look like a dream in that.”

“Good to know what turns you on.” She teased while putting one of her feet on tiptoes to have her leg peek out from behind the kimono. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her neck.

“Please don’t tease me while I’m hungry.” He whined while she chuckled in response.

“Ok, ok.” She rubbed his arm while he turned his head to kiss her cheek.

When the food was done warming up, they both sat down to eat talking about their day. Afterwards they both cleaned up and went to sleep cuddling each other.


	26. Team 10 mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> When she got their Lord Third was already waiting for. “Kessho I hope you’re not here to discuss what happened last week.” That stung…
> 
> “No, I’m not… Though now that you bring it up, I’d like to apologize.” His eyes widened in surprise, but he waited for her to continue. “I overstepped. You’re the Hokage and I thought you weren’t trusting my judgement when in reality it was me not trusting yours. I’m terribly sorry Lord Third.” She apologized as she bowed deeply.
> 
> “You are forgiven. Now what is it that you’re really here for?” He asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grammar bad.

She woke up at around dawn and slipped through Kakashi’s arms to head into the kitchen. Grabbing the kettle, she filled it with water and put it on the stove to make tea. She grabbed some bread to make toast and quietly sat down to eat when everything was ready. With some paper and ink, she left Kakashi a note on the table saying she needed to leave for her meeting. Quickly, she got dressed and decided to jog over.

When she got their Lord Third was already waiting for. “Kessho I hope you’re not here to discuss what happened last week.” That stung…

“No, I’m not… Though now that you bring it up, I’d like to apologize.” His eyes widened in surprise, but he waited for her to continue. “I overstepped. You’re the Hokage and I thought you weren’t trusting my judgement when in reality it was me not trusting yours. I’m terribly sorry Lord Third.” She apologized as she bowed deeply.

“You are forgiven. Now what is it that you’re really here for?” He asked.

“I would like to wait for Asuma before discussing anything.”

“Very well.” He agreed. She sat down in the chair in front of his desk while they both waited. “I see you and Kakashi have become quite friendly.” Lord Third mentioned.

“Did Asuma tell you?” She questioned. He chuckled.

“No, I saw you both holding hands leaving the kaiseki place in town as I was heading over to it. You two certainly looked happy together.” He explained while she could feel her cheeks turn a deep shade of red. “Well I just hope you keep yourself protected.”

“I am Lord Third.” She assured.

“Well what better shinobi to have by her side to make sure she’s protected than Kakashi?” Asuma asked as he walked in.

“I suppose that’s true.” Lord Third agreed. “Now that Asuma is here, what’s all this about?”

“Well I’m sure that we can all agree that the Ino-Shika-Cho trio is one of the strongest weapons here the leaf has.” They both nodded in agreement. “This weapon depends on the coordination and teamwork of the trio as a whole. Lately, the group has been a little strained, and although they’ve had a high success rate in missions so far, I don’t believe they’re truly committed to the group yet.”

“Do you agree with that Asuma?” the Hokage asked.

Asuma contemplated for a while choosing his words carefully, “I can agree. They still have the potential though.”

“So what is to be done about this?” Lord Third asked.

“Well I believe that I have a solution. I would like to request them to be placed on a B rank mission without us there.” They both grew wide eyed and were utterly shocked. “At least to their knowledge we wouldn’t be there.” They both relaxed. “I believe that putting them through a tense situation will cause them to come together to form the team that they need to be. I truly think that all they need is a push. Ideally you would assign them some sort of escort mission, where they might run into trouble. Asuma and I can stay in the shadows while they do the job and if things get too heated then one of us can step in.”

Lord Third turned to Asuma and asked, “What do you think of this plan?”

“While I agree that this would help them come together, I’m not exactly the stealthiest shinobi out there.” Asuma chuckled.

“I could do it alone.” She shrugged.

“Very well then. Asuma, you are dismissed, there’s some things I need to discuss with Kessho in private.” The Hokage told him. Asuma nodded, got up, and left, closing the door behind him. “I hope you’re not doing this just because you want a mission.” He accused.

“I’m not. I’ve grown to know Ino and I believe she has great potential within the Yamanaka clan, but she won’t get far if she doesn’t work on her teamwork.” She explained.

“Well then, here’s the mission information. It’s escorting one of the feudal lord’s grandchildren to and from the village of the hidden leaf.” He told her while handing her the file. “You’ll accept this as your jonin self.” She nodded. “I must say Kessho… I didn’t expect you to actually get into the teaching aspect too much. It’s nice to know you did.”

She smiled. “I surprised myself as well.”

“Well then, you are dismissed. Go and send the trio my way.” He commanded before she got up and left.

When she met the rest of the team at the training grounds, she saw Kakashi was also there. The teams were sparring against each other while Kakashi and Asuma watched. She walked up behind them and placed one arm around Kakashi and one arm around Asuma.

“Starting the party without me, huh?” She told them, and they both chuckled.

“So you get the info for the mission?” Asuma asked her.

“You’re going on a mission?” Kakashi asked.

“Yes, I’m going on a mission, or rather they are.” She signaled to the three genin with her nose. “They’re going on a B-ranked mission escorting the feudal lord’s grandson to and from the leaf. They’re going to think they’re on their own, but I’ll be hiding watching them, making sure nothing goes wrong.”

“Pulling a sneaky-sensei then?” Kakashi questioned.

“Pulling a what?” Asuma asked, confused.

“Sneaky-sensei is what Naruto calls Kessho.” Kakashi smiled and Asuma chuckled. Turning to her he asked, “So you’re leaving tomorrow?”

“Yup. For about three days. Should be a relatively short trip.” She told her silver haired man.

“Don’t go missing her too much.” Asuma joked and Kakashi turned a light shade of pink.

“I’m gonna go ahead and tell them they need to report to the Hokage.” She told them pulling her arms back down to her sides. She turned and gave a two fingered salute before heading over to the genin. When she got over they had just about diminished their chakra and were resting with Ino and Sakura both fawning over Sasuke. “Ino, Choji, Shikamaru. The Hokage wants to meet with you three.”

“Really? What about?” Shikamaru asked.

“Oh… I don’t know…” She said while looking around. “Something about your first solo mission.”

“What? Really?!” Ino exclaimed.

“What!? How is that fair? You’re already going on solo missions?!” Naruto complained. She turned around to head back to Kakashi and Asuma as she was not interested in hearing anymore complaints.

“Did you really have to say that in front of Naruto?” Kakashi groaned while Asuma laughed.

“Sorry.” She shrugged.

“You’re going to have to make it up to me.” Her silver haired man told her.

“Oh really…?” She asked and he nodded. Her eyebrows raised in response. “Alright.”

“You two do some kinky shit, don’t you…? Wait… Never mind. I’d rather not know.” Asuma said while they both chuckled.

“Well if you ever need advice on how to please Kurenai, Kakashi can help you out.” She waggled her eyebrows at Asuma.

“Hey what the fuck? You told him!?” Asuma shouted.

“You really think that Kakashi didn’t notice?” She asked Asuma. Asuma looked over her head to face Kakashi.

“Yeah I had noticed that night. You forget we’re  _ both _ ex Anbu.” He admitted.

“Ughhh, so was it  _ just _ you two that noticed, or do you think the others know too?” He asked sheepishly.

“Well look at big ol’ Asuma getting embarrassed.” Kakashi and her chuckled before she continued, “It was just us. I told you, it takes a keen eye to notice.”

“If you guys say so.” Asuma sighed. “I’m gonna head out, see you two around.” Asuma waved as he left.

“So is Asuma going with… or…?” Kakashi asked.

“No, he’s words were ‘I’m not the stealthiest shinobi’.” She chuckled.

“Are you going to be ok going solo?” He was concerned.

“I’ve only ever gone solo.” She commented.

“Well yeah but have you been ambushed before or dealt with over a dozen shinobi at once?” Kakashi questioned.

“Yes. Kakashi I have dealt with ambushes before, and I have assassinated 6 shinobi at once and took care of the other six separately. I will be perfectly fine.” She reassured him. “I think we need to go on a mission together for you to see what I can do.”

“I think we might… I’m sorry for doubting you, I don’t mean to, I just… I want you to come home.” He said with worry in his eyes.

“I understand, but you do need to work on not doubting my abilities. I think we might need to at least spar soon, but not today.”

“Why, are you scared?” Kakashi teased.

“Oh now you’re asking for it.” She teased back. She walked a little more to the center of the training grounds and threw her sai to stick to the nearest tree and she took a defensive stance. Kakashi stood before her and lifted his headband to reveal his sharingan. “Oh so that’s how you’re going to play it?” She asked.

“Well you might fight some sensory opponents, have to make sure you’re ready for that.” He tried to say in his most serious tone.

“Well two can play at that.” She said motioning subtly to read his mind. With that Kakashi lunged at her with a punch and two kicks which she blocked with ease. In turn she attempted to land a couple punches and a kick, but all were blocked by the copy ninja. Kakashi tried to sweep his leg underneath her, but she jumped quickly to avoid it, when she landed on her feet she spun and tried to elbow him in the stomach, but he jumped back just in time.

She jumped to do a flip kick to try and land on his shoulder and push him down, but he spun out and grabbed her leg, with that she spun to kick his face with her other leg, yet he was able to narrowly avoid it by letting go of her leg and arching his back. At this point the students gathered to watch the fight. They continued on to try to land blows on each other, failing each time. The sharingan and mind reading abilities were evenly matched when it came to predicting/copying moves.

They inched closer to one another each tense awaiting the next attack. Kakashi lunged forward with a kick which she blocked with her arm to then land a kick on his stomach. To counter he grabbed the leg and swept her foot out from under her to which she rolled away to escape. When she returned up in a defensive stance, she didn’t have enough time to block the kick that Kakashi landed on her face. She then skittered back to try and distance herself to regain her composure.

Once again she lunged at Kakashi with a kick, he quickly moved back and managed to grab her foot and pull her back. She lost her footing and fell to the ground face first, but quickly turned over and pulled out a kunai. At the same time he lunged down to her pulling out his own kunai both meeting each other’s throats. They both met each other’s tense gaze with their kunai’s at each other’s throats, Kakashi straddling her the tension dissipated and was quickly turned to lust as they felt each other's heavy breaths against themselves. She could hear his thoughts about how badly he wanted to kiss her right then and there.

“REALLY?! A tie?!” Naruto shouted and groaned.

Just as quickly the lust vanished as Kakashi got up and put his kunai away. She then slowly got up herself and stopped her mind reading while putting her kunai away. “I guess that’s what you get when you put two ex-Anbu agents against each other.” She shrugged. “Anyways, I have some errands I need to do.” Just as she was about to leave Kakashi grabbed her arm and pulled her in to whisper into her ear.

“Come stay at my place tonight before you go.” He asked of her.

“I’ll be there.” She nodded trying to resist the urge to smile at him as she knew the young genin would be watching. With that she went to grab her sai and headed into town.

* * *

She sat with Asuma, Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru at the BBQ place where they were wrapping up celebrating team 10’s first solo mission. Asuma and her finished up their beers while he paid. Choji was chowing down on the last few pieces of prime rib, and Ino and Shikamaru were discussing what time they would meet tomorrow before heading off to the estate of the feudal lord to escort their grandson to visit the hidden leaf village.

“Let’s meet at sunrise, this way we can get there in the afternoon.” Shikamaru suggested.

“Sounds good to me.” Ino shrugged.

“Sunrise, really?” Choji groaned.

“Yes, we need to make sure to account for anything that could go wrong.” Shikamaru told them.

“Fine.” Choji said.

_ Sunrise. Ok, that’s not bad. It’ll be about 5 days total to complete the mission  _ she made note to herself.

“Alright guys, good luck! I’m going to head out.” She told them.

“I’ll walk with you Kessho.” Asuma remarked while getting up as well. They both walked out of the restaurant. “So you sure you’re going to be ok handling this on your own?” He asked.

“So you’re doubting me too…” She nodded to herself. “Why does everyone seem to do that? Didn’t I win when we sparred together?”

Asuma chuckled nervously, seemed he had forgotten about their sparring match. “Well I think it’s because you’re… Kinda small…”

“Seriously?  _ That’s _ why?” She asked in disbelief.

“Well yeah, it’s kind of hard to picture you against 3-4 guys that are all quite a bit bigger than you, and be able to take them all down.” Asuma admitted.

“I’ve had much worse odds you know. Kakashi was doubting me as well so we ended up sparring after you left.” She told him.

“And who won?” He asked.

“Dead tie. We both ended up with kunais at each other’s throats.” She informed him while she shoved her hands in her pockets.

“Huh… I mean if you can do that to Kakashi, maybe you can take on at least 2 shinobi twice your size.” Asuma joked while lighting a cigarette. “Just be careful out there. Can’t have you dying when I’m just starting to get along with ya!”

She chuckled, though she was growing annoyed at being underestimated. Reaching Kakashi’s place, she waved goodbye to Asuma and headed up the stairs. When she got to Kakashi’s apartment, the aroma of ramen wafted through. He was in the kitchen cooking away, and she had just eaten some BBQ. Guilt washed over her as her sweet silver haired man was making sure she was well loved before her mission.  _ Fuck it. I’ll stuff my face again. _

“Something wrong?” He asked with his eyes on her, which she hadn’t noticed.

“What? No. Just lost in thought.” She told him.

“You already ate, didn’t you?” Kakashi whined.

“No! It’s ok, I have plenty of room!” She tried to convince him and herself.

“Are you sure? I mean… It’s ok…” He tried to say without disappointment in his voice.

“It smells really nice, of course I’ll eat some.” She walked over to him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

“It’s ready, go sit.” He ordered. She sat down at the table where he served her a big bowl of ramen.

_ Fuck,  _ she cursed because she could already feel herself being bloated after this. Even so, she began eating her ramen as soon as Kakashi sat down to join her. It was delicious. The broth was hearty, the pork was flavorful, and the noodles were cooked just right. ”It’s really good.” she told him. Any other time this would’ve been a wonderful meal, but here it took much effort to finish her bowl.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He told her before kissing her cheek and taking the bowls to the kitchen. Walking over to the couch, she removed her pants along the way and sat down slouched with her gut sticking out slightly. Kakashi sat down next to her to join her.

“I’m having a food baby.” She told him.

“What should we name it?” Kakashi asked her.

“Well I ate BBQ with Asuma earlier to celebrate them getting their first solo mission, so I suppose Asuma might be the father too… We might need to consult him.” She joked.

“We get most of the custody though, right?” He teased.

“Oh of course.”

“Ok good. I’m going to name it… Toby.”

“So my food baby is a boy?” She asked him.

“Of course it is!” He exclaimed.

“Wait how do you know?”

“A father always knows.” He tried to say seriously, but they both broke character and started laughing.

“Seriously though I don’t think I’m going to be able to move much tonight.” She complained while he put his arm around her to pull her into him.

“What time are you leaving tomorrow?” He asked.

“Sunrise is when they want to set out. You’ll still be sleeping.” She answered.

“Mmmm… Well I guess I’ll have to give you a good welcome back home instead of goodbye.” He squeezed her and kissed the top of her head.

“Oh please don’t squeeze me.” She whined.

“Sorry. Are you meant to be going as Kessho?” He questioned.

“Yeah, I suppose it’s, so they can recognize me easily if I need to step in.”

“Be safe.” He kissed her head again. “How about you read to me?” Kakashi asked.

“Ok, I just got a new book the other day, but let’s go read in bed.” She suggested.

“Sounds perfect.” He said as they both headed to the bedroom. He undressed leaving only his pants on and went to get into bed. She grabbed her favorite shirt from him and put it on with only her underwear. Getting under the covers she began to read her new romantic smutty novel, still replacing their names into the story and she continued to read until she fell asleep.

When she woke up, the sun hadn’t risen yet, but she knew it was coming soon. She kissed his cheek and wrote him a letter before leaving.

> _ My dearest star, _
> 
> __ __ _ I’m heading out but I just wanted to write you goodbye before I did. You always amaze me with your thoughtfulness and kindness. I hope I never get to stop experiencing it. _
> 
> __ __ _ I should be back on Wednesday night, where we will be in town the next day for the feudal lord’s grandson to enjoy. After, I’ll accompany them back and I’ll be home by Saturday. I’ll stop by Wednesday night. See you then! _
> 
> __ __ _ All my love, _
> 
> __ __ _ Kessho _

With that she ran off to her house. When she got home, she grabbed a backpack to store with a few things, mostly food and water, along with a few extra items. The sun began to peek up from the trees, so she made her way to the gate entrance. Crouching on the guard house at the north entrance, she saw Choji running towards Ino and Shikamaru. She was watching them talk for a minute before heading out. Concealing herself first, she made her way to follow them.

The walk there was mostly boring. The team was spent with Ino gossiping most of the time, fawning over Sasuke or fighting with Choji and Shikamaru. Instead she decided to go higher up into the trees to avoid listening to their babble and to keep a better eye out for any impending threats, though she doubted there would be any on this leg of the trip.

The first leg of the trip remained uneventful as they reached the feudal lord’s estate. Shikamaru was right, they arrived at the estate around noon. It was a magnificent palace amongst much smaller spaced out homes that paled in comparison. When they got in, she used her cloak of invisibility to shroud herself and with chakra she climbed along the walls and roof to sneak in and listen.

“The Hokage sent you three to guard my grandson? Surely there must be some mistake…” The guards insisted. Shikamaru simply handed them the paperwork with the mission information. With that the lead guard sighed and went off into a room to go retrieve the grandson of the feudal lord. Team Asuma introduced themselves to him. The grandson appeared to be only a couple years younger than them. He began to beg to leave now so that they could arrive by nightfall and he could spend an extra day in the village. Shikamaru was hesitant, Ino was fine with it, and Choji insisted they eat first. Eventually they decided to eat lunch first, then head out. Just as Kakashi had described to her once, team Asuma was out in the sun enjoying cooked food, while she was in the shadows taking a food pill.

_ It’s actually probably wiser for them to head out now. A deviation in mission plan of this sort can be a good thing, the schedule change will ensure any prompted attacks are now futile.  _ She thought and hoped this was something that Shikamaru saw himself as they made their way back out for the second leg of the trip. 

Everything seemed to be going along smoothly when she thought she sensed someone approaching up ahead. She rushed ahead of them without being detected and was able to sense the thoughts of about four people up ahead.  _ Good thing I grabbed my needles. Now I can take out two without having team Asuma notice.  _ She thought before pulling out her needles and taking a deep breath. The world around her slowed ever so slightly as she concentrated. In an instant she threw two needles to temporarily paralyze the two men closest to her from the neck down. When they fell to the ground, they made a large thud which prompted the other two to show themselves to team Asuma.

While team Asuma dealt with the other two, she approached the two she had paralyzed and quietly dragged them next to each other while covering the mouth of one of them with some bandages. The other mouth was covered with her hand when waiting for the man to wake. When he awoke in a very quiet voice she said “I have put a needle in each one of your necks. It’s reversible if I pull it out, but it’s also not the only needle I have and if you don’t answer my questions I might put one in a place where it isn’t reversible. Understand?” She asked and the man nodded. “Now I’m going to remove my hand and you’re going to talk  **very** quietly. If you don’t the needle goes in, understand?” She waited and the man slowly nodded. “Good.” She slowly removed her hand and the man awaited her questions.

“Are there any more of you?” He shook his head in response. “What is your mission?” She asked him.

“The scroll is in the pocket of my pouch there” He motioned his head to the pouch. She took the scroll and read. It was a small group meant to abduct the grandson and hold them for ransom as ordered by a relatively powerful clan outside of the hidden leaf. The Tanaka clan. There had been rumors that they were unsatisfied with their current power, but she didn’t think they’d do something so stupid.

“Stay quiet, I need to check something.” She told him as she jumped up on a tree branch and perched. The ino-shika-cho trio seemed to be working together nicely, and were wrapping up taking over the two men who were attempting to kidnap the grandson of the feudal lord. She took out both her bingo books: the standard one assigned to higher ranking shinobi, and her personal one. After cross checking and making sure they weren’t wanted, she put the two books away and lept back down to the two men she had immobilized. Pulling out a kunai she stabbed both of them in the calf. “If you don’t hurry up and tend to those wounds, you’ll bleed out. You should have enough time to get to someone who can help with that. Now you’re going to go over to your comrades and pull out. If the shinobi over there say anything, I wasn’t here. If you lie or do anything else other than what I instructed I won’t paralyze you this time, I’ll kill you.” She finished with a demanding and stern tone. The man gulped and slowly nodded and his now awake partner did the same. She removed the bandages from the other man, then removed the needles. Jumping back up to the tree, she watched as the two men hobbled to their comrades and tried their best to run away.

“Phew, that was a close one!” Choji exclaimed.

“Well, we were able to hold our own against them, but I wonder where those other two came from.” Shikamaru mentioned as they started to walk again.

“Maybe they were the thuds we heard from earlier. They seemed to be hobbling so maybe they got injuries from falling from the trees?” Ino suggested.

“I don’t think so… They were bleeding in similar locations.” Shikamaru contemplated as he went into thought.

_ If I’m not more careful, he’s going to suspect they're being watched. _ She thought. To take precautions she jumped up a little higher and maintained distance as the rest of the way back to Konoha was smooth. They arrived a while after nightfall and they escorted the grandson to the inn he was to stay at. Once she saw the grandson was safely inside the inn, she rushed to the Hokage’s office. When she got there he was just about leaving.

“Oh Kessho, you aren’t due to be in town until tomorrow, did something happen?” Lord Third asked.

“Yes and No. Everything went smoothly with my being there, but I felt it was necessary to get this to you right away.” She said handing him the scroll she got from the men who were ordered to kidnap the grandson of the feudal lord.

“I see…” the Hokage contemplated as he read the scroll. “And the men?”

“I took down two and questioned them, which led to me getting the scroll. I injured them so they couldn’t follow us but I told them to get their other men and leave.” She explained.

“Very well. And your cover? Is it still intact?” he asked. She nodded.

“Shikamaru was suspicious that they both had leg injuries, which was rather careless and could have been done more skillfully on my part, I’ll admit. Either way if he suspects, he’s kept his suspicions to himself. I’ll make myself available publicly tomorrow as if I were enjoying a day out so they can think I’ve been here the entire time.” She finished.

“Alright. Continue on as you would. I will take care of what is on this scroll, you are dismissed.” The Hokage waved her off. She began to walk to the exit. “Oh and Kessho.”

“Yes?” She turned to face him.

“I’m very pleased to see that your plan is working.” She bowed and walked out. Heading over to the inn, she wanted to check in with the grandson before finishing for the night. She shrouded herself in invisibility and peeked into the window. The grandson was fast asleep after his long day of travels.

With that she headed over to Kakashi’s apartment, using the front door as opposed to the window she usually used when returning from missions. Instead of loving kisses though, she was greeted with a kunai.

“Someone’s a bit jumpy.” She teased.

“I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow night… Something happen?” Kakashi asked, lowering the kunai and sounding concerned.

“Just an eager kid wanting to hurry up and see the city of Konoha.” She said smiling and moving to hug him. His embrace grew warm. “I’m surprised you didn’t smell it was me.”

“You-you smell like forest right now…” He stuttered.

“Fuck… I must’ve concealed my scent without thinking… Just comes so naturally when I’m in stealth mode.” She shrugged.

“Come on, let's go to bed. I was trying to sleep before you got here.” He motioned for her to follow him.

“I’m going to take a quick shower first.” She told him.

“Ok. I want to hear about what happened when you’re done.” He chimed, smiling his closed eyed smile. She went to the bathroom to take her shower, trying her best to get rid of the smell of forest. Instead, she lathered herself with her cucumber melon soap.

_ Much better, now I smell like a normal human instead of a spy _ she thought to herself.

When she finished, she got out and teleported some underwear after drying herself off. She walked out to the drawers and put on the shirt she always slept in whenever she was here. When she turned to the bed, Kakashi was already fast asleep. She stood there staring at him for a moment, taking in his peaceful sleeping body. Grabbing the covers, she pulled them back and his body twitched. Quietly she joined him underneath the covers and pulled them over them both. When she brushed up against him, he seemingly instinctively turned to pull her into him wrapping his long strong arm around her. A sense of warmth, no, home washed over her.

_ My star… Always guiding me home,  _ she thought before falling asleep.


	27. Team 10 third leg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> She waited atop the guards house for the trio and Minori while being shrouded in invisibility. After about an hour of waiting patiently, they showed up ready to leave and make their way back to the feudal lord’s estate. Hiding once again in the shadows, she followed them promptly. Once they reached about halfway there night had begin to fall. As it fell she could feel something not sitting right. Turning on her mind reading abilities, she sensed the area around her. There were around 10 shinobi catching up behind them, and they were catching up quickly. At this point she reacted quickly, by jumping down and revealing herself to the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grammar bad still.

She awoke to being squeezed lovingly and with kisses being placed on her cheek. There was also a certain poke that she felt trying to poke between her thighs. “Someone’s eager this morning.” She told him playfully. He exhaled in her ear which sent shivers down her spine.

“My buddy down there is just really happy you’re home early.” He whispered playfully. She could feel his smile against her ear.

“I see, and is your buddy enjoying himself? Getting all nice and warm?” She teased as she felt him rubbing himself between her thighs and heard him grunt in pleasure.

“He is…” He groaned before flipping her over to straddle her. She reached up to cup his face, which he turned to kiss her palm. Reaching a little further, she wrapped her hand around the back of his head and pulled him in, to have their foreheads pressed together. They shared a moment, she loved those moments… The moment of simple bliss, where time seems to freeze right before you devote yourself to showing how much you love the person before you. He moved in and grazed their lips together, not quite a kiss, simply a delicate touch… Barely a touch… while they continued to look at each other trying to peer into each other’s souls.

She pulled him close and breathed him into a kiss, both of her hands reaching into his hair while his hands still stayed planted on either side of her holding himself up. The kiss was deep and searching, searching for a deep connection between them both. Wanting to feel more connected she wrapped her legs around his hips causing him to collapse onto her. She broke the kiss to quickly remove her sweatshirt and stopped briefly to steal glances from each other. It’s as if her heart stood still when she saw his face so full of love and devotion.

They pressed their lips against each other once again, opening quickly to begin exploring each other, tasting each other. One of her hands stayed in his hair the other moved under his arm and around his back as his hands did the same, as if they were both moving in unison. They squeezed up against each other, feeling their naked chests and the warmth that radiated from them against the cold fall air that enveloped the room when the covers began to slide off. She could feel herself getting wet as she felt his heat pressing against hers only being restricted by the thin fabric from their underwear. He broke the kiss to move down to her neck as she moaned in pleasure. She began clawing at his back as if to try and pull him in closer as if it were even possible. Craning her neck to give him more room, she arched her back and moved to take off her underwear. When he felt what she was doing, he moved to follow suit.

She pulled him back to her and continued their intimate, intense kisses. Feeling his length laying against her slit, but not pushing through sent another shiver down her spine; she broke the kiss and moaned into his ear. Cupping his face with both of her hands she looked into his eyes and whispered, “I love you, Kakashi.”

He smashed his lips against hers breathing her in, only to break the kiss and whisper into her ear, “I love you Kessho.” He lined himself up and lifted his body to watch her face as he entered her. Her eyes rolled back into her head as her mouth lie agape releasing a whimper. Quickly she wrapped her legs against his hips to push him into her even further. Her lips grazed his neck as he began thrusting in and out of her. Occasional kisses reached his shoulder as she felt and enjoyed every single thrust into her he made. That feeling of closeness, of two bodies melding into one coursing through them both.

Moving up to his ear she caressed her lips against it to whisper: “I need you.” After letting out a moan, he began to quicken his pace. She reached around to cup his face and meet their lips into a deepened kiss. They could both feel the heat building as his pace kept increasing. Moans of pleasure filled the room around them as she felt herself filled with his girth as it thrust against her hitting that perfect spot each time. When they were close they broke the kiss, she pulled him in close, clawing at his back, and kissing his shoulder. She clenched down as she peaked and her walls closed into his girth helping him reach his. Their bodies pulsated into each other as they rode out the waves.

He pulled away to face her and brushed her hair behind her ear. “Welcome home” He smiled, as it turned into chuckles for the both of them. She placed a hand on his cheek and gave him a peck that quickly turned into a smile against his lips.

“As much as I’d like to live in this moment forever, I’m still technically on a mission…” She said sheepishly. He collapsed onto her and buried his face in the pillow she was resting on.

“No.”

“No…?”

“Yup, you heard me. No. No mission for you.” He mumbled into the pillow.

“Kakashi I have to gooooo.” She tried pushing him up but he was holding his ground.

After some struggling and giggling, “Fiiiiiiine.” He kissed her cheek and let her go.

As she got up and was getting dressed, she suggested, “I can walk with you and we can grab something to eat along the way, we just need to detour around to check in. What is it that you always say…? Get lost on the path of life?”

He got up and started getting dressed himself. “That sounds lovely.” As she was bent over putting on her pants, Kakashi spanked her. She turned around and glared. “It was right there, clearly it needed to be done.”

“Mhmmm” She smirked. “When I get back and the mission is over, we can spend all day in bed.”

“Promise?” He asked.

“Promise.” She smiled looking up at him now that he was towering over her fully dressed. He bent down to kiss her lips through his mask. “Ok now let’s go.”

When walking out of the apartment building she already spotted ino-shika-cho with the grandson.

_ How convenient _ she thought to herself. She walked over to them and Kakashi followed behind.

“Kessho-sensei!” Ino waved. “Were you just at Kakashi’s apartment?” She questioned.

“Yeah I went to pick him up, he’s going to teach me how he always gets lost in the path of life.” She told them non-chalantly. “How’s the mission going?” She asked changing the subject.

“It’s going fine sensei, we were just going to show Minori a good place to eat breakfast!” Ino exclaimed.

“Ah yes Minori, It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Nakano Kessho.” She bowed her head. “I hope they are treating you well. If there’s anything you need, please let me know.”

“Oh! They’re great! They took down two bandits yesterday! It was awesome!” Minori exclaimed.

“Sounds serious. Is everyone alright?” she asked with a sincere tone.

“Yeah, we were fine… Luckily two of the bandits had gotten injured already, so we were able to handle it no problem.” Shikamaru spoke this time.

“No problem, huh?” she asked. “Well make sure to write this all in your report to the Hokage.”

“Report?” Choji asked.

“Yeah normally either Asuma or I do them, but since we aren’t on this mission one of you guys have to write a report of everything that happened.” She explained while walking off. “Have fun!” She said sarcastically as she shoved her hands in her pockets. The trio were grumbling about who was going to write the report in the background as she walked off.

“So there were four bandits, huh?” Kakashi asked.

“Yeah, I took down two with my needles and sliced their leg to make sure they wouldn’t follow. The leader from a nearby village ordered it. I handed the scroll off to the Hokage. Wasn’t hard.” She shrugged.

“Without breaking a sweat?” he asked.

“More like without missing a beat.” She corrected.

“I guess I owe you a bit of an apology then.” He admitted.

“Asuma thinks it’s because I’m short that people underestimate me.” She commented.

“I mean maybe a little…” He ruffled his hair awkwardly while she raised an eyebrow at him.

“I get that you just want me safe… But please stop underestimating me… At least  _ that _ much.” She pleaded.

“I’ll try to work on it.” He said as he rested his arm on top of her head. She held back, but still punched him in the gut causing him to retract his arm. “No short jokes, got it.” He groaned as they walked into a tea shop for breakfast. They both enjoyed some tea and a hard boiled egg with toast and Kakashi told her about the antics his team was getting into.

Just as they were getting up to leave he told her “They’re getting to be quite the handful.”

“Yeah but you knew they would be from the start.” She responded.

“True, but I have a nagging feeling today is going to be one of those days where they’re up to something…”

“Well how about we take it easy, get into some trees, and read?” She suggested.

“That sounds perfect.” He smiled. They went to a path near some shops where she knew Minori would be and they sat up on the trees to read for a while. Kakashi had the tree closest to the path, and she had the one behind his so she could stay out of the main line of sight. They both enjoyed some quiet reading, that is until his team came by.

“Kakashi-sensei! We were looking everywhere for you!” Naruto shouted with Sakura and Sasuke on either side of him. 

“Were you now?” Kakashi asked. She knew this is exactly what he was talking about earlier.

“Yeah, we thought that since you’re such a good sensei, we can treat you to some ramen!” Naruto exclaimed.

“Ramen? Oh that sounds wonderful! Can I come?!” She beamed as she poked her head out scaring Naruto.

“Hungh- Sneaky-sensei… I um didn’t see you there…” Naruto grew flustered while she could hear Kakashi trying to stifle a chuckle.

“Isn’t that why you gave me the nickname?” She said playfully.

“Uh yea… I guess you can join us, but since we’re his students, we get to sit next to him!” Naruto demanded as they jumped down from their trees.

“Fine by me since you guys are buying.” she smirked as she followed them to the ramen shop.

In a voice low enough for only her to hear, Kakashi asked “What are they up to?”

She opened up to scan the surface of their minds and that’s when she saw the plan, which afterwards she quickly shut it off. Using her skills she told him in his mind “They want to see your face behind the mask. Are we going to mess with them?” He nodded in response.

Once they got there, Sasuke sat on one side of Kakashi and she sat next to the other. Sakura, of course, sat next to Sasuke and Naruto sat at the end. The bowls of ramen were served before Kakashi and her.

“So what exactly are you two planning? You’re not going to have a bunch of snow fall on me, or have a giant boxing glove hit me are you? Something like that?” The team grew nervous. “Well? You guys are up to something right?”

“Wha-wha-what are you crazy??” Naruto asked while Sakura insisted there was nothing wrong.

She noticed Ino-shika-cho coming around the corner and they spotted Kakashi’s team, they were planning on stopping in, so she let Kakashi know so he could eat quickly then. It went exactly as she predicted. The trio came in to brag about their mission while blocking Kakashi from the view. Minori came around her side to talk to her, while Kakashi quickly ate his ramen.

“Are you enjoying your stay?” She asked.

“Yes, the town is lovely!” Minori answered excitedly.

Shortly after Kakashi was done, the trio and Minori left, and Kakashi’s mask was already back up. When she heard them all groan she nearly spit out her food.

“That was great, thank you so much for the ramen you guys!” Kakashi thanked them with a slight smug tone in his voice. When she finished they walked off and went to do some errands. They got groceries and on the way they stopped in front of the bookstore. To look at the books.

“They’re behind us you know.” She commented lowly.

“I wish they would work on concealment a little bit more.” He sighed. When he turned around he saw a poster for Icha Icha where they were releasing a director’s cut of the movie. “I better go order tickets right away.” And he ran off leaving the groceries behind. She picked up the groceries as she saw Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura run off behind him. When he flickered back beside her, he grabbed the groceries from her as they approached the trio. “Hey guys, were you looking for me? Need me for something?”

They immediately started shaking their heads and all slowly turned to face him. She was working so hard to keep a straight face while Kakashi just peered at them. They all ran off. “They’re not going to let this go, are they?” He asked her. She shook her head.

“Sorry.”

“Could you take these back to my apartment and grab me a solo mask? I want to wear it underneath this one.” Kakashi asked her.

“Sure thing.”

“Oh and give me a while, I’m going to go visit the cemetary for a bit.” He added. She grabbed the groceries with one hand and with the other took his hand and squeezed.

“Sure thing.” She smiled. With that she headed to his apartment, when she got there, she went ahead and put all the groceries away. Then, taking out the kettle, she made herself some tea to drink while she read for a bit. Once the tea was done, she sat down to read her new novel that she was about halfway through. After about an hour, she finished her tea, grabbed Kakashi an extra mask, and headed out to look for him, but he showed up at the apartment as she was about to leave.

“We got assigned a mission to help out at a farm nearby.” He said grabbing the mask from her hands. “I should be back tomorrow night.” He smiled.

“Ok, I’m going to stay at your place since it’s closer to Minori.” She informed him.

“That’s ok with me, just take care of the dogs for me.” He asked, lowering his mask.

“I always do.” She smiled standing on her tippy toes to kiss him goodbye.

Before he left he turned to her and said, “We should probably introduce our dogs soon…”

“We can talk about that later.” She suggested. He nodded, pulled up his mask and left. She made more tea and nestled into reading her book where she eventually fell asleep.

* * *

Kakashi arrived the next evening as she was making dinner. She was hammering away at the pork and didn’t hear Kakashi come in. When she turned she stumbled back in surprise nearing the hot oil but Kakashi quickly caught her. “Sorry for startling you. Honestly I didn’t think it was possible at this rate.” He smiled his big dumb closed eyed smile she loved.

“Well enjoy the feeling while it lasts, because I doubt it’ll happen again.” She stuck out her tongue at him. He chuckled as he straightened her up. “So tell me what happened.”

“Well it turns out there were three bandits who I guess I had fought before? And they showed up. Oh and they tried to entice me at the hot springs, so I wrapped some cloth around my face. Then they used the bandits clothing to try and sneak up on me and get me to take off my mask that way, and finally when they just asked, I lowered my mask and showed them my second mask.” He told her as they both laughed.

She turned to start frying the tonkatsu as he sat at the bar behind her watching her cook. “You know they aren’t going to let this go, right?” She told him.

“I know… I’m thinking of turning it into a team building thing. I might need your help to pick out a disguise.” He mentioned.

“Ooooo That sounds like fun!” She chimed.

“So, you’ll help me then?” He asked while she dipped the pork into the panko.

“Of course,” she smiled. “I have contacts, some wigs, and other stuff at my place.” She said while placing the final piece of pork to fry. She walked over to him and lifted his headband and traced his scar with her thumb delicately as he rested his head against her hand, closing his eyes. “This will be the trickiest thing… But I think with some makeup, maybe a sticker thing… Like the Inuzuka clan, it should be easily covered.” She kissed his forehead and returned to the kitchen.

“I think I have just the thing.” He smiled at her while she took out the pork and placed it on a paper towel. Next she took some white rice to mold into some onigiri, then quickly cut up the tonkatsu. She placed everything on a plate along with some steamed veggies and served the food. They both sat down to eat. “It looks really good. Thank you.” He smiled before lowering his mask and taking the first bite.

“You know I never understood the fuss about everyone wanting to see your face, but I think that’s because I saw it the first day I met you.” She told him. He chuckled.

“Well you’re really one of the few people that has seen my face.” He commented.

“Oh? I feel so special now.” She said before finishing off her veggies. “I guess they must not suspect we’re together.”

“What makes you say that?” He asked with curiosity in his tone.

“Well if they did, they probably would’ve asked me what you look like.” She answered simply. He nodded in agreement as they finished the rest of their meal. He picked up the dishes, while she put away the leftover rice and cleared the kitchen. When that was done, she joined him and dried the dishes to put them away. It was hard to reach, so she jumped up on the counter, got on her knees, and reached to put the dishes away.

“Is this what you do when I’m not around?” He asked with a smile on his face. She simply nodded. “That’s kind of adorable.” He mentioned before returning to finishing the last dish. Feeling herself blush, all she could do was smile as she kept putting dishes away. When she was done, he grabbed her and picked her up to bring her to the couch. When he plopped her down, he joined her and pulled out his book. “I figured we could just both read since I’m tired and you need to rest for your trip tomorrow.”

“That sounds nice…” She smiled pulling out the new book she had just bought today.

“That’s new.” He commented.

“It is.” She acknowledged.

“What’s that one about?” He asked.

“Well I think this one is going to be the most like us yet. It’s about two ninjas from rival clans that fall in love. They meet while spying on each other.”

“Ooooo… I’ll make some tea and you can read it to me.” Kakashi said as he got up and headed to the kitchen. When the tea was done, he brought some for the two of them and she cuddled in between his arms and rested her head on his chest. She then began to read a love story to Kakashi, until they fell asleep on the couch.

By the time she woke up, there was drool on the book that had landed on her face and Kakashi still had one arm wrapped around her while the other was hanging off of the couch. She got up and quietly got changed and grabbed her backpack. When she went to kiss his cheek, he was still sound asleep, but it seems the gentle touch woke him up.

“Time to leave?” He mumbled, still half asleep.

“Yup.” She told him while he moved his hand down from her shoulder, to her arm, to meet her hand. His other hand reaching out to cup her cheek.

“Come here.” He demanded sleepily. She leaned in and their lips grazed each other. A light effervescent kiss. But he wanted their goodbye to be deeper, so he pulled her in for a long passionate one instead. When he finally let her go, their gazes met and she smiled against his lips.

“I’ll be back soon. Don’t you worry.” She told him as she straightened up and left.

* * *

She waited atop the guards house for the trio and Minori while being shrouded in invisibility. After about an hour of waiting patiently, they showed up ready to leave and make their way back to the feudal lord’s estate. Hiding once again in the shadows, she followed them promptly. Once they reached about halfway there night had begin to fall. As it fell she could feel something not sitting right. Turning on her mind reading abilities, she sensed the area around her. There were around 10 shinobi catching up behind them, and they were catching up quickly. At this point she reacted quickly, by jumping down and revealing herself to the team.

“Kessho-sensei?!” Ino shouted.

“No time to explain. Take Minori and run as fast as you can up ahead. I’ll take care of these men coming.”

“But I don-“

“JUST GO!” She shouted, pulling off her backpack and taking out her needles lining up three each between her knuckles. The trio grabbed Minori and flanked around him as they ran along. Taking a deep breath she heard what directions the thoughts were coming from and followed their inner thoughts. Once she had the positions, she threw the needles aimed at six necks.

**THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD.**

_ Fuck I missed one. Maybe a sensory type? Alright well at least that’s half of them down.  _ She analyzed and shouted “There’s no use hiding! I can detect exactly where you all are.” Five men jumped out before her as one managed to slip by.  _ Dammit. Ino-Shika-Cho will have to handle that one until I can meet up with them.  _ Without another thought she threw both sai aiming for the chests. Of two of the men.  _ Down to three now. _

She quickly jumped, faked a kick, and landed the other hitting one of the men across their face, spinning and kicking the man behind her in the gut. The third tries to land a punch but she ducks, tumbles and heads to one of the stabbed men to retrieve her sai. She then quickly runs over to try to grab the next, narrowly missing a kunai thrown at her. One of the three men began charging at her and she swept their standing out from under them while she lunged at the one behind. The man being lunged at skittered back and she continued to run forward using him to run up and flip to avoid an attack coming at her from behind. She spun and managed to slash the stomach of one of the men, then finished them by kicking them in the stomach and they quickly fell over. One of the men came up from behind, grabbed her, and stabbed her arm. Using her free arm she elbowed him, spun around and stabbed him with her sai.

“Well you might be good, but you can’t fight with one arm.” The man told her. Except the adrenaline was coursing through her veins and the pain hadn’t yet come, so she took a defensive stance with both arms and figured she’d deal with the pain to come later.

“So you’re the leader then, are you?” She interrogated.

“No, but that don’t mean I can’t take a tiny thing like you down.” He laughed at her.

“Really?! I took down 9 of your men and you’re still saying that?!” She complained. “I swear I liked dealing with this from the shadows way better, I didn’t have to hear any of these ridiculous statements.” She was exasperated and he was distracted with her complaints, she quickly used that opening to throw her sai in his chest. The man fell to the ground. “Asshole.” She muttered.

As fast as she could, she began running to catch up with the others. After a few moments, she saw that Shikamaru had the man under a shadow possession, but they seemed to be struggling. Grabbing one of her sai, she threw it at the back of the man that was frozen before the trio. Catching her breath she slowly walked up to meet them. “Sorry I’m late guys.”

“Kessho-sensei your arm!” Ino quaked.

“Oh this? It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. More importantly, are any of you hurt?” She asked with concern.

“No, we’re fine.” Shikamaru said, wiping the blood from the man off of his face.

“Sorry about that. I could see you were reaching your limit.” She commented. “But I’m proud of all three of you, not a single scratch on Minori. You were able to maintain a good handle on the situation, and most importantly, you worked together.” Reaching down she pulled the sai out of the man’s back with her foot and the man fell forward. With her foot she rolled the man over and reached into his front pocket, pulling out a scroll. When she checked it, she saw it was just as she suspected.

_ So the same people sent a bunch of stronger men this time to try and do the same thing… I thought Lord Third was going to handle this… _ She wondered why they continued…

With her sai, she slashed her sweatshirt down her chest. “Ino, come here I need your help.” Ino nodded and rushed over as she sat down. She shrugged the sweatshirt off of her non-injured arm then turned to Ino. “I’m going to pull out the kunai. It’s stuck in there deep, so when I do, I’m going to bleed. A lot. So I need you to take off my sweatshirt, and wrap it around my arm as quickly and as tightly as you can. Don’t be worried about hurting me.”

“Maybe we should just leave it in?” Ino suggested meekly.

“If I do, I run the risk of tearing up my muscles even more. I can’t afford to sit around and wait for it to heal. It’ll be fine, now woman up. Are you ready?” She asked. Ino hesitated for a moment, but then she gave a determined nod. She removed the kunai and Ino quickly removed the sweatshirt and wrapped it around her arm various times and secured it by tightening it. Ino stopped for a moment staring at her Anbu tattoo. “Wondered whether it would really be there?” She joked. Ino stepped back in embarrassment.

“Alright, we shouldn’t have any more issues and we aren’t that far off, so let's keep going.” She said getting up and cradling her arm.

“So Kessho-sensei, since you’ve been here the entire time, does that mean you’ll write the report instead of us?” Shikamaru asked.

“Nice try, but you guys still have to write your own report. We do technically have different missions. Mine was to escort you three on this leg, while your mission is to escort Minori.” She explained smugly while everyone grumbled.

“What a drag.” Shikamaru commented.

“Also what do you mean by the entire time?” She questioned with sincerity in her voice.

“Oh no, you might be able to fool these two, but I now know you’ve been following us the entire time. I thought it was suspicious that the two men from last time both had leg injuries, but there wasn’t enough proof to rule out that it was a coincidence.”

“Oh I see. You got it all figured out don’t you?” She asked, and Shikamaru nodded. “Well I’ll admit stabbing both of them in the leg like that was pretty dumb on my part. I’m not used to having people watch what I do so closely.”

“Kessho-sensei?” Ino whispered.

“Hm?”

“How did you do that…?” Ino said in a very hushed tone.

“Do what?” She questioned.

“Kill that man….? Without even thinking about it… And you’re fine with it….?” Ino trembled.

_ Fuck ok I was not prepared for this conversation.  _ She thought, stalling, looking to the stars above her.  _ Stars…  _ a sense of comfort and courage washed over her.

“This isn’t my first time… Being a shinobi, this is going to happen sometimes. When it does happen it usually doesn’t haunt you right away… You’re too full of adrenaline and other brain chemicals rushing through you to really think about it in the moment. It’s later that they haunt you… Much later… Like when you’re alone at night and nobody else is around.

“It’s nice to help people, and you tell yourself that’s what you’re doing… but this is the part of being a shinobi they purposefully leave out. If they do tell you, they tell you it’s necessary. That it’s either you or them. In the moment, that’s how it feels too… But it isn’t until later that you see all the other things you could’ve done. Yet by then, it’s too late…” She trailed off and looked at Ino. There was an internal struggle going within Ino that she could see now… One that she knew Ino would have to battle for herself. “Just make sure that no matter what, you do what  **you** think is right.”

The rest of the journey was done in silence as they made their way back to the estate while the trio contemplated her words.


	28. Closing wounds with Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> My dearest Kessho,
> 
> I was hoping you wouldn’t need this, but I wanted you to have it anyways. I’ve seen your scars and knowing you, if you didn’t have this, you’d burn the wound shut. I hope you’re ok, safe, and make it back to me soon.
> 
> Love,
> 
> Kakashi
> 
> She felt a tear run down her cheek and in the box was some basic first aid, along with a few suturing kits.
> 
> I love this man… He knows me better than I know myself sometimes because I was just about to heat up my kunai and seal that wound shut, she told herself. With that she went to the keeper of the estate.

When she got to the estate, this time she stayed in a room instead of a tree. She was given bandages to tend to her wounds, but she knew she really needed to close the wound fast. Rummaging through her backpack, she tried to look for things she could use to close her wound. In it, there was a box she didn’t recognize. When she opened it a letter fell out.

> _My dearest Kessho,_
> 
> _I was hoping you wouldn’t need this, but I wanted you to have it anyways. I’ve seen your scars and knowing you, if you didn’t have this, you’d burn the wound shut. I hope you’re ok, safe, and make it back to me soon._
> 
> _Love,_
> 
> _Kakashi_

She felt a tear run down her cheek and in the box was some basic first aid, along with a few suturing kits.

 _I love this man… He knows me better than I know myself sometimes because I was just about to heat up my kunai and seal that wound shut,_ she told herself. With that she went to the keeper of the estate.

“Could I get a bottle of whiskey?” She asked them.

“Yes of course, right away.” The man said leaving.

“The highest proof you have!” She yelled as he went to go search for a bottle. A few minutes later the man came back with a bottle and handed it to her.

“I’m sorry it’s not better quality, but it is the highest proof we have. Please accept all of it as a gift for Minori’s safety.” He bowed.

“Thanks” she said while trying to open it with her teeth as she walked back to her room. When she got to her room, she sat down and took a swig. Grabbing one of the suture kits, she pulled it open with her teeth. She finally released the wound from the sweatshirt and it began to bleed a little. She poured some whiskey over the wound.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck” she hissed.

After cleaning away the dried blood with the gauze, she grabbed the needle and began to suture the wound. She might not know medical ninjutsu, but she was trained in first-aid and had read enough about it to know she would need to go to the hospital upon arrival. There was a good chance the kunai hit some bone and at least scratched it. She also knew this would be a temporary fix until she could get real medical attention. When she was done suturing, she used the kunai to cut the rest of the string.

Resting her good hand on the floor before her, she reflected on everything that happened. When she finally came back, she put everything from the med kit away and threw out the used medical supplies. She opened the window, grabbed the bottle of whiskey, and rested in the window sill.

Taking a swig of whiskey she thought, _Did I really tell Ino the right thing…? I mean… I just… It’s not usually_ **_me_ ** _who deals with it._ **_I’m_ ** _not usually the one doing the killing… It’s usually Midori, or Rai, or Yukiko, or some other of my personas… Although… This time I suppose it was me_ . She took another swig of whiskey. _The real me is meant to be this Kessho person right? So then_ **_I_ ** _killed someone this time… Multiple people…_ She took another swig of whiskey. _How do I deal with this now? Do I need to? Do I even feel anything anymore…? Should I? They were going to kill me. Did they have families?_ Another swig.

 _Oh no… What if they had families? They just needed money to feed their children. Would I have been able to not kill them? No… The first few men were out for blood… They had that thirst in their eyes… Even the second in command. But the last one… Him… He was strangled… Surely I…? I…? Didn’t have to kill him._ Another swig. _But shouldn’t I feel guilt…? Does that make me a bad person if I don’t? I don’t want to be a bad person… But I also know that this is the mission… What is right and wrong anymore…_ Another swig. _I should tell Asuma to talk to Ino… He’s probably better at that stuff than I am. I’ll make sure I’m not there for that talk… I think Ino is afraid of me now._ Another swig _. Was this whole mission a mistake? No… It served it’s purpose… but at what cost…?_

She stumbled back into the room and looked around for the cork to put in the whiskey. Between what she drank, and what was poured on her wound half of the bottle was gone. Falling to her knees she began crawling looking for the cork.

 _Where’d that little shit go… I know it’s around here… Aha! Gotcha!_ She pushed the cork into the bottle and crawled over to the bed with the bottle still in her hand. Slowly, she drifted off into sleep.

* * *

“Kessho-sensei!” Ino shook her awake.

“What-WHAT?!” She got up suddenly. “Is everyone alright?”

“Yes we are fine, but it’s time to leave… Are **you** alright?” Shikamaru asked.

“Yeah sensei, you hit that bottle hard” Choji commented.

“I used it to sterilize my wound. I’ll be out and ready to go in a minute.” She told them. They nodded and stepped out. Quickly she gathered her things and stuffed them in her backpack, including the whiskey. When she stepped out they were all waiting for her. “Let’s try and hurry it along so that I can get to the hospital.”

“Are you going to be ok sensei?” Ino asked, sounding concerned.

“I’ll be fine, I just need to get my arm checked.” She reassured her with a slightly annoyed tone. That whiskey hit her harder than she thought. “We will be going up and around instead of taking the normal path. I don’t want to deal with any run-ins. If you lose sight of me just call out to me.” Jumping up into the trees she started to make her way with the trio following behind.

They arrived in the afternoon, given that they had a late start. Upon arrival she continued down to the hospital. When she walked in, the hospital waiting room was filled with people. Some were physical injuries, some appeared to be some form of cold or of the like. When she walked up to the desk, the woman before her showed some disgust and annoyance upon looking at the injury.

“You shinobi always making simple injuries harder with your botched up patch jobs…” the woman complained. “Here, fill out these forms and take a seat.” She grabbed the clipboard being handed to her and stood against the wall as all the seats were taken. Being left handed, she braced herself for the pain moving her arm was about to bring. The form was filled out in accordance with the personnel file that was registered with her name at the Hokage’s office. Then they asked for information on injuries and surgeries…

 _This could get messy_ . She thought to herself, while filling out the portion on medical history. After a good while, she finally got to the end of the form. The last thing to fill out: Emergency contact… _I guess… Kakashi. Right? That wouldn’t be weird… I’m sure if he gets called he’ll know it’s because I don’t really have anyone else. I wonder who he puts… Wait. We love each other, it shouldn’t be a big deal to put him down… Right?_

When she finished, she handed the forms back to the lady at the counter. “Well follow that lady over there. She’s going to take you to get x-rayed.” She followed the nurse to get her X-ray done. When that was done, she was shown to a bed in the ER, where a female doctor with long black hair in a ponytail came in.

“I’m doctor Onishi. I’ll be taking care of you today. We’re going to start you on an IV because you’re dehydrated, along with some broad-spectrum antibiotic because that wound is more than likely infected. Your humerus is scratched and your muscle is torn up pretty badly, so we’re going to tear those stitches and treat it with medical ninjutsu directly and then put you in a cast.” The lady explained and she could tell the lady was in a rush. “Do you have any questions?”

“Just one. How long until the cast can come off?” She asked

“You shinobi always rushing off to just get yourselves injured again…” the doctor sighed. “If you take it easy, it should be about three weeks, maybe less.”

 _Well fuck, that’s not going to do._ But before she could say anything out loud, the doctor left. A male nurse came to put in the IV, and an apprentice came to undo the stitching and heal the muscle. To deal with the pain she laid her head back and closed her eyes. Just as the apprentice was finishing she felt a hand on her right leg. When she opened her eyes she tensed up.

“Please try not to move.” The apprentice told her.

“Sorry, I just heard. Are you ok?” Kakashi asked her.

“Yeah I’m fine, it’s just a scratch, what are you doing here?” She asked him.

“They said you lost quite a bit of blood and they wanted to make sure you made it home ok. You put me down as your emergency contact, so they called me.” He explained. She could feel her face turning red.

“Oh… I see…” She said sheepishly.

“The scratch was smaller than the x-ray indicated and I was able to take care of that, but the muscle tearing was worse than expected. I’m not able to heal all of it so we’re going to have to wrap it up and rest it.” The apprentice informed her.

“How long?” She asked.

“Two weeks. IF... you actually rest it.” The apprentice warned, they then proceeded to stitch the wound closed.

“What happened?” Kakashi asked.

“There was an ambush ordered by the same person. This time there were 11 people. I unfortunately had to reveal my cover, but I managed to get 10 and got to the trio as they were starting to lose control of the leader. I’m starting to think there may be an information leak somewhere. I think they knew that there would only be genin protecting the grandson… Otherwise why would they send two groups so insistently like that? And why not just have the second group that came to attack first?” She thought aloud.

“You might be onto something there. Have you told Lord Third yet?” He asked.

“No… I wanted to get treated first, I knew I lost some blood.” She shrugged.

“Of course. I’ll go with you.” He suggested and she nodded.

“Ok I’m done here. I’ll go get your medication for the wound and the discharge papers. Keep that wrapped, ok?” The apprentice told her before leaving. She got up and started collecting her bag and grabbed her sweatshirt to toss into the trash.

“Do you want my flak jacket, to you know… Cover up?” Kakashi offered.

“What’s the matter, afraid you’ll be too distracted?” She teased while she signed the discharge papers.

“No!...” He refuted. Grabbing the medication, she started to make her way to the Hokage’s office.

Upon arrival she walked into the Hokage’s office.

“Are you alright?” The Hokage asked her.

“I’m fine, but this is urgent.” She pulled a scroll out of her backpack and handed it to Lord Third. “There was 11 this time. Much stronger, much more professional.”

“I assume you revealed yourself.” The Hokage commented as he read the scroll.

“Of course, their safety and the mission take priority over concealment.” She answered.

“I see… This is concerning. I’ll take care of it. You rest up and go home. Ah, Kakashi, I didn’t see you there. Is there anything I can help you with?” The Hokage asked.

“No Lord Third, I’m merely accompanying Kessho.” Kakashi explained.

“I see. Very well then I expect the report tomorrow.” The Hokage said. “You are dismissed.” She turned and left the Hokage’s building.

* * *

Once outside, she asked “I need to speak with Asuma, do you know where he might be?”

“Kessho, you need to rest.” Kakashi insisted, but she stopped in her tracks.

“Kakashi, this is important. I need to talk to him.” She insisted. Kakashi looked into her eyes and could see there was something serious there. He sighed and gave in.

“He’s probably at the bar, but we can’t stay, you really should rest.” Kakashi put his arm over her shoulder and led her to the usual bar.

“Kakashi I’m not that badly injured, I’ve had far worse. I only need to rest my arm, which means not throwing my sai with my left arm for a while, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do it with my right and I’d really appreciate it if you stopped treating me like a piece of glass that’s about to crack.” She snapped and walked ahead of him to get to the bar quickly.

When she walked in, everyone greeted her and raised their glasses.

“Woah Kessho, have a rough trip?” Asuma asked once she got closer until she was standing next to Asuma.

“Everyone’s fine but we need to talk.” She told him. He looked up to her and she motioned with her head for him to follow her. As she was walking out with Asuma, Kakashi was walking into the bar. “Just stay here I’ll come back when I’m done.” She told Kakashi, he simply nodded. They walked out to the alley by the bar; she leaned up against the wall and let out a deep sigh. “I think I fucked up.”

Asuma offered her a smoke, which she took. While he was lighting it up she grabbed the bottle of whiskey from her backpack and offered Asuma a swig. He took the bottle and read the label. “That’s some good shit…” He remarked before taking a swig while she took a drag. “So what’d you fuck up?” He asked while handing her the bottle and taking a drag himself.

She took a swig before answering, “I killed a man right in front of them, blood landed on Shikamaru’s face.”

“So? They’d have to face that eventually.” He commented before taking the bottle and taking another swig and leaning up against the wall behind him with one foot planted on the wall.

“That wasn’t the issue…” She grabbed the bottle and took a swig herself. “The issue was Ino… Afterwards she was scared about how remorseless I was. She asked me how I could be like that.”

“Hmmm…” He grabbed the whiskey again and took a swig while she took a long drag and held it in. “What’d you tell her.”

“That it comes back to haunt you later, not in the moment.” She exhaled and grabbed the bottle to take a quick swig.

“Fuck Kessho…” He took a drag. “You really don’t put things delicately, do you?” He asked.

“I told you I fucked up.” She took another swig, but he chuckled. She faced him as she flicked the ash off of the cigarette.

“It’s ok. I’ll talk to them.” He smiled. “But how are you?” he asked with a serious tone. She took another swig as her answer to which he nodded, grabbed the bottle, and took another swig of his own.

She took the last drag of her cigarette and opened her mind to hear if anyone was listening in. Once she confirmed nobody was, she answered, “Before it was never _me_ doing it. It was always someone else. Whoever I was meant to be for that mission… This time though… It was me. Like actually me. Yet… I still didn’t really feel anything. I still don’t. Does that make me fucked up?” She asked, turning to face him.

“Nah.”

“Nah? That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?” She asked him in disbelief. He took his last drag.

“The fact that you’re concerned about whether that makes you fucked up alone shows that you feel something. You’re probably just still disassociating with yourself. You’ve probably done it for so long, you don’t know how to quite turn it off.” He answered before taking another swig. Passing the bottle to her, she took a swig herself. He was right. That’s exactly what she was doing. “It’ll hit ya. And when it does, it’s gonna be a bitch. Hopefully you’ll be in a good place by then.”

“Thanks Asuma…” She told him as she corked the whiskey and put it away.

“No probs lil sis.” He slurred.

“Little sis?” She grimaced pushing herself off of the wall and stumbling a little before finding her ground.

“I’m testing it out, what do you think?” He asked with his arm around her shoulders as they headed back into the bar.

“You can treat me like a little sister, but don’t call me that.” She told him as they approached the table where the group was at.

“So are you going to join us Kessho?” Anko asked “By the way, I’m digging this roughed up look you’ve got going. The bandage around the arm, the sports bra with the mesh, the cargo pants… Very nice…”

“I just got back from a mission; this isn’t a look. Since when have I come to this bar in pants?” She slurred.

“Ok I think it’s time to go.” Kakashi said getting up and rushing to her.

“Well, Mr. Boss man over here thinks that if I don’t go home now, I’m going to just fall apart so I better get going.” She slurred telling the group as she started to head out of the bar. A moment or two later Kakashi joined her.

“I don’t think you’re going to break.” He claimed.

“WEll then STOP acting like it!” She exclaimed.

“Where did you even get alcohol?” He asked

“From the feudal lord.” She said matter of factly. He tried to put his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off. She rushed up to his apartment, because she knew there was no way he’d let her go home alone in her ‘condition’. When she got inside, she rushed into the bathroom to avoid talking to him. She undressed and slowly took off her bandages and looked at her wound.

_That’s going to scar… Well it’s right below my Anbu tattoo, just having missed it. Well except the little tail end I guess… Should I even bother getting that retouched?_

“Do you need any help?” Kakashi asked. It took everything she had to calm herself.

“I’m fine. Leave me be.” She groaned through clenched teeth. After a moment she heard him leave the door. She got into the shower and started to bathe.

 _I get that he’s coming from a good place… But I’m not weak. I’ve worked doing missions far more dangerous than this for the past 15 years. Why can’t he understand. I’m not just some average shinobi. I’m the mother fucking ninja that doesn’t fucking exist. I AM the feeling you get when someone is watching you. I AM the air that sends chills up your spine. I AM the shadows that move at night when nobody appears behind you. I AM a badass._ She cemented her thoughts.

She turned off the shower, grabbed a towel and dried herself off making sure to take extra care at her wound. Reaching into the medicine cabinet, she pulled out some bandages and wrapped her wound, cutting the tape with her teeth. When she walked out, he was waiting for her in bed, reading. She teleported a button up PJ top and put on some underwear. He put down his book.

“Kessho I-“

“I know it’s from a good place. But I’m getting real tired of having to try to tell you how much of a badass I am. I’m not some regular shinobi. I’m an elite shinobi, one who was trained and known to do this for her whole life.”

“Yes but-“

“No buts, I’ve done more S-Ranked missions than you Kakashi. Do you think that they were misclassified so the Hokage could stroke my ego or something?”

“No, but-“

“But what? Why does there have to be a but? Why can’t you just trust that I actually know what I’m doing?” She finished with a sense of exasperation.

“Can I speak please?” He asked calmly. She nodded, still visibly frustrated. Patting on the bed, he motioned for her to sit down with him. Getting on the far end of the bed, she rested her back against the wall and wrapped her good arm around her legs. “I’m sorry.” She finally turned to face him once she heard those words. “The last time I allowed myself to have something this close and precious to me… They ended up in early graves. I know you’re strong, I know you’re capable. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes, I mean… You’re incredible. I just don’t want what happened to Obito, Minato, or Rin… To happen to you.”

She could tell that was really hard for him to say. A tear rolled down her cheek and her anger faded away. She plopped over and laid down. “Why do you have to be good with words? How am I supposed to stay angry at you when you play the dead friend card?”

“Oh it’s a card now is it?” He teased back. She held his hand and kissed it.

“I miss Minato a lot. He actually tried to make me feel like I was a part of a family with him and Kushina.” She told him.

“How so?” he asked.

“Well he told Kushina about me…. They kind of told each other everything it seemed, so she insisted on inviting me over for dinner. Ever since that one time, I would always eat with them whenever I was in town.” She answered.

“Even when she was pregnant?” he questioned.

“Yeah, she was extra hot headed when she was pregnant. She even yelled at Minato once about how he was assigning me too many missions and she wanted me to be able to come over for dinner more.” She chuckled.

“So those people were you… Huh…” He thought aloud.

“What do you mean?” She inquired.

“Well I was assigned to watch Kushina through her pregnancy.” He stated.

“That was you?!” She exclaimed. “Man even in the Anbu your stealth sucked.” She joked.

“Well I always saw these people come in that looked similar, and I did background checks, but all there was was some superficial stuff. Nothing really in depth… Whenever I brought it up with Minato, he said not to worry about it, that he had it handled. Then he’d always say… ‘I really wish that I could introduce you to this one person… I think she’d be good for you.’” He explained further.

“That’s so weird… He used to tell me he wanted to introduce me to someone… I wonder if it was you.” She pondered.

“I think it was.” He acknowledged. She crawled up under the covers and nestled into him.

“We should go visit him tomorrow.” She suggested.

“That sounds like a great idea. Then after can you help me with my disguise?” He asked.

“Sure thing.” She yawned. Kakashi turned off the lamp, laid down, and wrapped his arm around her as they slowly fell asleep.


	29. Fun with a Camera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> At least these aren’t bruises I need to hide. She told herself as she let go of her shirt and groggily tried to get back into bed to sleep. Very carefully, she crawled into bed trying her best to not disturb the sleeping Kakashi before her. Once she finally rested her head on the pillow, sleep did not come. Her eyes traced along his skin. One by one she started counting his scars along his skin. Even after the 34 scars she saw that were visible to her, she still couldn’t fall back asleep. Her arm was still in a dull irritating pain. Fuck . He turned over to face her with his eyes still closed.
> 
> “Why are you awake so early?” He mumbled.
> 
> “My arm hurts, I’m sorry… Did I wake you?” She whispered. He moved to pull her in and kiss her forehead. “You have 34 scars.” She mumbled.
> 
> “34 huh? I thought there was more…” He muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grammar bad.

When she woke up, her arm was sore, and it would appear the sun hadn’t risen yet. She walked over to the bathroom where she had left her backpack and rummaged through it looking for the medication she was prescribed. Opening the faucet she drank some water and took the pill. Looking at herself in the mirror, she could see some bruises from the fight starting to form on her forearms. Lifting up her shirt, she was a large nasty bruise forming on her stomach. She let out a large sigh.

 _At least these aren’t bruises I need to hide._ She told herself as she let go of her shirt and groggily tried to get back into bed to sleep. Very carefully, she crawled into bed trying her best to not disturb the sleeping Kakashi before her. Once she finally rested her head on the pillow, sleep did not come. Her eyes traced along his skin. One by one she started counting his scars along his skin. Even after the 34 scars she saw that were visible to her, she still couldn’t fall back asleep. Her arm was still in a dull irritating pain. _Fuck_. He turned over to face her with his eyes still closed.

“Why are you awake so early?” He mumbled.

“My arm hurts, I’m sorry… Did I wake you?” She whispered. He moved to pull her in and kiss her forehead. “You have 34 scars.” She mumbled.

“34 huh? I thought there was more…” He muttered.

“Well it’s 34 that I could see.” She whispered.

“That sounds more accurate. Now sleep.” He commanded sleepily while running his fingers into her hair, he began to massage her scalp. The feeling was so relaxing to her, she was finally able to drift back to sleep.

By the time she woke up again, she could hear clamoring in the kitchen. She groggily got up and went to find the source of the sound. Kakashi was making his favorite breakfast it seems, so she simply sat down at the table half asleep. After a few moments Kakashi began serving and turned around to find her already sitting at the table.

“Oh, I didn’t hear you come in. Well, breakfast is ready.” He mentioned as he placed the food before them. When he sat down, they both began to eat.

“So do you want to go to my place first for the contacts, wigs and stuff, or go looking for clothes?” She asked.

“I guess clothes since that will be on the way.” He shrugged.

“Ok, do you have an idea of who you’re going to pose as?” She questioned.

“I’m going to be a reporter photographer.” He smiled.

“So, you’ll need a camera then. I think there might be a place where you can rent some.” She mentioned.

“Oh perfect! We’ll have to stop by there.” He beamed and smiled his closed eyed smile.

“If you want I can sign the rental agreement for the camera, so you don’t have it traced back to you.” She suggested.

“That’d be perfect. Thanks.”

Once they finished eating and cleaned up they both got dressed. Kakashi wore his shinobi uniform, but she decided to wear something that would be easier to put on. Instead she wore jeans, a bra that clasped in the front, and a red button up flannel shirt. The jeans were up to her waist, and the flannel shirt she tucked in. She didn’t button up the flannel all the way but grabbed a black scarf to wrap around her neck and cover her chest.

“Are you ready?” He asked. She nodded and with that they left to go clothes shopping.

Once they walked into the store, she could tell that Kakashi was beginning to dread every second of this. Instead of looking at dresses for herself, she decided to pick out clothes for him. “Alright you just head to the stall, I’ll pick out things for you. You just try them on and decide if you like them.” She commanded, while he looked relieved and headed to the dressing room. Looking around she grabbed a few different coats, scarves, shirts, and pants to wear. Tossing them over the stall door she heard, “You could’ve warned me it was going to rain clothes you know!” She laughed.

“I’ll be out here, let me know if you need anything.” She told him before being pulled into the stall. “What are you-“

“Well I’m planning on showing my face that day, so I can’t wear a mask when I try these on, and I’m not leaving the stall without a mask.” He explained, while she sat in the chair and shrugged. Watching him try on all the clothes, she got a little aroused. It was almost like her own personal strip tease… She leaned back in her chair and admired the sight. His eyes narrowed at her, “Why are you looking at me like that…?”

“Just admiring the view.” She replied smugly.

“Oh really…?” He smirked while currently shirtless only wearing the pants he was trying on. She grabbed one of the scarves, tossed around his neck, grabbed the other end and used it to pull him down to her. He grabbed on to the top rail of the chair she was sitting in and leaned into kiss her, but only grazed his lips with hers before pulling away. Placing one hand on her thigh he growled in her ear, “Later.” A shiver went down her spine.

“Tease.” She pouted.

After deciding on the outfit, Kakashi went up and paid while she waited by the store front door. When they walked out, they began to head to the electronics store. Once they got there she began to ask about camera rentals while Kakashi looked over the ones available. After deciding on a camera, she signed the rental agreement and bought the film needed. After they left they made their way back to her place where she began to make some tea. Feeling the heat from the kettle, she took off her scarf and placed it by the door while Kakashi was fiddling with the camera. While she was pouring the tea, she heard a click of the camera.

“What are you doing?” She asked without looking up.

“I’m trying out the camera. If I’m going to pretend to be a reporter, I need to make sure that I actually need to know how to use it.” He argued.

“Fair point.” She replied while bringing him some black tea while she took a sip of her chamomille honey tea. Setting down the tea, she walked over to her closet and pulled out a drawer containing contacts.

**Click.**

He took another photo while she was bent over placing the contacts on the coffee table. “Did you just take a photo of my cleavage?” She asked

“It’s practice.” He smiled innocently.

“I’m going to hear that a lot today, aren’t I?” She questioned with a slightly annoyed tone.

“Yup!” He exclaimed simply while beginning to look over the contact lenses and their colors. “You have a lot of choices…”

“I have a lot of aliases.” She shrugged while heading back to her closet. Trying to reach the top shelf, she was standing on her tiptoes to pull down a box labeled “short wigs.”

**Click.**

The box toppled on her spilling its contents. Bending over she picked up the wigs to put them back into the box.

**Click.**

“If you stop taking photos of me I’ll put on that kimono you love…. I’ll even let you style me and take pictures.” She teased. He turned red and quickly put the camera behind his back and smiled his closed eyed smile. Grabbing the box, she displayed all the wigs out on the bed. While watching him, she could see that the disguise he was thinking of was coming together in his head. She took the camera from him and pulled his mask down.

“Wha- What do you think you’re doing?!” He stammered.

“I want a photo for me, so I can pull it whenever I’m on a mission and missing you.” She walked over and kissed his cheek. “I promise to never show it to anyone.”

After a moment of hesitation, he gave in. “Fine… NEVER show it to ANYONE.”

“I promise.” She smiled. He stood back and waited for the photo to be taken. “Oh no, it’s not going to be that simple.” After placing the camera on the table, she removed his flak jacket, headband, and sweatshirt, leaving only his undershirt on with the mask lowered. “Ok now go into the living room and just go pick out what contacts you want.” She instructed. Once he went out to the living room and was sipping his tea, she grabbed the camera and shrouded herself in invisibility. Creeping around she managed to find a soft moment where he was looking out the window holding his mug. One leg was on the couch while he was hunched over holding his tea, feeling its warmth between his hands.

**Click.**

She revealed herself “Perfect.” She smiled with such warmth she felt it herself. He grumbled and lifted his mask back up to cover his face while she chuckled. Sitting down next to him, she placed the camera on the coffee table. When she settled in next to him she pulled his chin to face her and kissed him through the mask. “I love your face. If you want to hide it, that’s fine, but I love your face.” He smiled lovingly. “Alright we should go visit Minato.” She spoke while getting up and holding out her hand. Taking her hand, he got up and left with her to the flower shop.

* * *

When she walked in, Ino was working the counter. Ino looked a little stiff as she approached.

_Asuma must not have spoken to them yet… She’s still scared of me._

“Hi Ino!” She tried her best to give a warm smile. “I’m looking for a few flowers to leave to someone. He was my mentor.”

“Oh Kakashi, should I get your usual?” Ino asked him as he walked into the store.

“Sure, if it’s not too much trouble.” He answered while she moved to the side. Ino went to grab some flowers and rung up Kakashi. Afterwards he walked out of the shop.

“How close were you two?” Ino asked, bringing her back into focus.

“Oh um, we were very close. He was one of the few who actually knew me pretty well.” She smiled awkwardly.

“Did you have a crush on your mentor sensei?!” Ino asked suddenly with tension gone and enthralled at where the conversation was headed. She however was taken aback.

“Oh no not at all! Well it’s more that I grew up alone, and he was more like a younger uncle I guess…” She fidgeted while Ino decided to buy into the truth she was speaking.

“Hmmmm… Ok, well here.” Ino handed her some flowers and rang her up. As soon as Ino was done, she quickly rushed out.

“Why was Ino all rigid at the sight of you?” Kakashi asked with curiosity in his tone.

“It’s from the mission. She saw me kill a man in front of her and I didn’t respond the way she thought I would. I told her that the feelings of remorse will come back to haunt you later.” She told him wearily.

“That’s… That explains things. Is that what you were talking to Asuma about?” He asked, putting his hand in his pocket. She nodded. They continued on in silence towards the cemetery. That is until they heard a shouting.

“Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto yelled, running to catch up to them. “Man you and sneaky-sensei sure do spend a lot of time together.”

“Well us two having been in the Anbu… It makes it easier for us to be friends.” She shrugged.

“Hmmmm… Yeah I guess that makes sense!” Naruto accepted while closing his eyes and folding his arms against his chest.

“Is there something you wanted Naruto?” Kakashi asked in a bored tone.

“No, I just wanted to say hi. So where are you guys headed?” Naruto pried.

“Now, now Naruto, it’s not nice to try to get into people’s business.” He scolded yet still somehow managed to sound bored.

“Aw come on Kakashi-sensei, you never tell us anything!” Naruto complained.

“We’re just going to be visiting some old friends.” She told him as they started to head up the stairs towards the cemetery. Naruto stopped in his tracks mouth, slightly ajar. It seems this wasn’t where he expected them to be headed, but luckily that also meant he wouldn’t follow. They headed to the 9 tails memorial, when they got there, they were relieved to see they were alone. She placed her flowers on the memorial.

“Hi Minato. It’s been a while. I’m sorry I haven’t come to visit… This time it’s not because I’ve been busy on missions. I’ve actually been moved to stay here on a more permanent basis now. It’s a big change. One I’m not sure I’m used to yet… But I think with time, I might actually like it. Maybe Kushina was onto something with her yelling at you to give me less missions.” She chuckled. “Also, I’m not sure… But I think I might’ve met the person you wanted me to meet… I miss you both… Oh! And I met Naruto! He’s quite the ball of energy. He talks as much as Kushina, but he doesn’t seem to have gotten that habanero.” She chuckled again. “I’ll keep an eye on him for you both.” She placed her hand on the memorial. “I’ll do right by you both.” She mumbled to herself before stepping back and letting Kakashi speak.

Only he didn’t speak, or rather if he did, it was in his head. After a moment she placed her hand on his back and moved it in circles to try to soothe him.

“I’m going to go wait by the bench and give you your space.” She told him as she squeezed him.

“Thank you.” He gave a small smile before she walked off to the bench.

* * *

After the cemetery, they ate at Ichiraku’s and were making their way back to her place. Once they got inside, she asked, “Do you want a beer?”

“That sound’s really good actually.” He said sinking into the couch. She grabbed two bottles and handed one to Kakashi. She sipped on her beer and let out a deep sigh.

“So what is your alias going to be named?” She asked while he lowered his mask and took a big gulp of his beer.

“Sukea.” He answered simply.

“Ok, got any backstory?” She took a big gulp of her beer.

“Just that I’m a traveler and that I used to be Anbu.” He answered before taking a sip of his beer.

“Nice. Simple, leaves it open to interpretation.” She took a sip of her own beer.

“You’re not the only one who can disguise themselves.” He teased before drinking some of his beer.

“Well I stand corrected.” She took a gulp of beer, placed it on the coffee table and went up to her room.

Walking over to her room she undressed with the door left open. She kept the black bra that clasped in the front, as it did have some lace on it and put some lace underwear to match. Walking over to her closet, she rummaged through it to find the red silk kimono with the embroidered white lotus on the back. Taking caution with her arm, she put on the kimono. When she walked over to her vanity, she sat down with the kimono still draped open.

_Fuck. Makeup with my right hand is not going to be easy._

It took awhile to do the simple makeup she usually did, but she managed eventually using her right hand. She finished her makeup with a bold red lip, and moved on to her hair.

_Ok this I don’t think I can do without my arm… but I’ll try._

She pulled her hair together up high and twisted it into a bun. Slowly the hair came undone before she could put the lotus pin in it. After a few more tries, she managed to put the pin into a loose bun. The only thing left was the Obi. Which she knew full well she would not be able to put on alone…. Grabbing the Obi, she headed out to the living room where Kakashi had started reading the Icha Icha book with his beer in hand. “A little help please?” She asked holding out the obi.

He looked up from his book suddenly and heat slowly rose in his cheeks while his mouth parted. Getting up, he took the obi and tied it in a sloppy bow behind her. She then felt arms wrap around her and a kiss planted on her cheek. “I’m excited to have such a beautiful model.” He told her while she giggled.

He instructed her in what poses he wanted and she followed his instructions, trying to make her face “soft”, whatever that meant. She posed in the doorway, out in the garden, laying on the couch draped with a leg folded peeking out, and so many more. Slowly the poses grew more risqué, the obi came off, she posed with it falling off of her shoulder as she looked back to the camera, but it seemed his favorite pose of her… Was when she sat with his copy of Icha Icha, legs crossed, Kimono draped over her curves, simply reading. Only that pose wasn’t one she was instructed to be in. It was when she was enjoying her tea taking a break that he saw her and started taking photos. Her being tired of posing, she opted to ignore him and continue reading, but he kept photographing. He only stopped, when he ran out of film.

She couldn’t help herself and started laughing at the disappointed look on his face. Slowly the laughter turned into pity as she motioned for him to join her on the couch. Putting the camera down on the coffee table he joined her. “My poor baby, all sad there’s no more film?” She teased.

“Can you really blame me?” He growled into her ear. Slowly he crawled over her pushing her down against the couch and moved to kiss her neck. He lowered his hips into her and she could feel his hardness against her lacy underwear just begging to be let in. Arching her back she pressed her chest against his while wrapping her legs around his hips and pushing his hardness into her. “Let's take off this Kimono, I’d hate for anything to happen to it” He teased pushing himself off of her. When she got up and removed the kimono, he quickly grabbed her and carried her to the bed room and placed her on the bed while he got undressed.

She only managed to get her bra off before he jumped onto her, crawled down and slowly removed her lace underwear with his teeth. He traced a finger into her slit from top to bottom feeling just how wet she was. Taking that very finger, he placed it into her mouth where she licked and sucked it clean. “Did you taste how wet you were?” He asked in his most charming and seductive tone. She simply nodded as she pushed his head down to her wetness, where she could feel him smirk against her before he started.

There were slow, simple, strong flicks of his tongue against her clit with each flick causing a jolt of pleasure to pulse through her. Much to her dismay, he continued with this slow pace for a while, but it just made her more eager and sensitive. Slowly the jolts of pleasure were causing her to twitch, and when he felt her twitch against him, he quickly started sucking and placed two fingers in her thrusting them in and out. Given how sensitive she already was, she could feel herself getting close. She shoved her fingers into his hair and pushed his face into her, but he stopped sucking so he could take a look at the pleasure he was causing on her face. Satisfied with seeing the moans come out of her mouth, he returned to sucking and flicking her clit with his tongue while increasing the pace of his fingering where she slowly peaked, screaming out his name in pleasure.

Breathily she got up to meet him on the bed and kissed him passionately. He wrapped one of his fingers around her neck and pulled her close as they pressed their foreheads together feeling each other’s hot breath on their lips. Their lips intertwined again starting off with fleeting grazes deepening each time their lips met again. He slowly encroached her until she was laying back down, where she wrapped her legs around his hips and pressed his now bare hardness against her now bare slit.

“Always so eager.” He smiled in her ear.

“What can I say, you have the nicest, thickest, cock I’ve felt.” She smirked against the skin on his neck. He pulled out her lotus pin and placed it on the night stand as her long hair slowly dropped down around her face. Slowly his fingers interlocked in her hair and he tugged back to expose her neck. She felt his hot breath on her neck as he was deciding where to start. Without warning, he bit down onto her neck which caused her to let out more of a gasp than a moan, yet still when her body jerked she felt her heat press against his further and she could feel his tip peeking at her entrance.

“Well if that’s the case, who am I to deny you such pleasure?” He whispered to her while inserting himself into her. The stretch, that full feeling, nothing but pure ecstasy as she clawed his back with her good hand. She pressed her forehead against his and he watched as her eyes rolled back with each slow thrust. Tugging at her hair again he pulled her head back to expose her neck to continue to suckle on it while picking up his pace. More moans escaped her lips as she closed her eyes to concentrate on feeling all that filled her. Once she felt heat building, he pulled back to raise her leg up against his chest. Slowly she felt him getting deeper, filling her even more. She began to play with her exposed cold nipple, only to have him guide her hand down to her clit.

“I want to watch you touch yourself.” He told her with such deep lust in his eyes. She began to rub her clit in little circles, quickly her eyes closed, but she could still feel him studying her movements. The way she clenched the sheets with her other hand, the way her back arched and twisted, the way her mouth parted when a stifled moan with his name was let out. His pace quickened further as he leaned in forward a little to get deeper. When he kissed her calf she could feel her climax as it enveloped around his girth quickly pushing him over the edge was well. The heat from his breathy grunts traced the skin on her leg as they both rode out the last waves of pleasure with a few last thrusts.

He slowly removed himself from her and laid down beside her. She teleported the medication she had left at Kakashi’s house and slowly got up. “Do you want some water?” She asked him and he nodded in response. Going to the kitchen she got two glasses of water and brought one back for Kakashi. The one she got for herself, she drank and used to take her meds. “Shower?” He nodded again. Once he finished his water, he got up and followed her to the bathroom. She started to undo the bandages on her arm while he hopped on ahead into the shower. Looking into the mirror she looked at the wound, it was just barely starting to heal. When she got into the shower, Kakashi grabbed a wet cloth, grabbed her arm, and gently cleaned her wound. He first went around the wound, then cleaned between the stitchings. When he was done, he added soap to the cloth and cleaned it again just as delicately.

She looked up at him, cupped his cheek, and kissed his lips just as gently as he treated her arm. “Thank you.” He simply smiled as if to let her know that this was something he would always do, whenever she needed. After they both finished bathing, they went ahead to go to sleep.


	30. Chunin Exams pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> “Who would’ve guessed that someone would come along and melt cold Kakashi’s heart.” Anko smiled. She wasn’t fond of the idea of calling him cold Kakashi, but what was she to do? “Alright through here. We have cameras in the room where they’re waiting.”
> 
> “I’ll join you in a minute.” She told Anko. With discretion and ensuring nobody was watching, she teleported a new notebook and took it out of her pants. Just because she was suspended and couldn’t go on missions didn’t mean she couldn’t observe the sound ninja from here. She quickly joined Anko and sat in the seat next to her.
> 
> “These are the cameras we have observing the students right now.” Anko explained. The room was absolutely packed full of them, and they all seemed to be chatting amongst themselves.

The next morning they found themselves headed to the Hokage’s office. Kessho was to turn in her report, and Kakashi had been summoned for some unknown reason. They both walked into the office together.

“Ah Kessho, Kakashi, I’m glad you’re both here.” Lord Third mentioned. She handed him the report and bowed her head.

“Here’s the report you requested, Lord Third. Is there anything else you need from me before I take my leave?” She asked the Hokage.

“Well given the chunin exams start today, I want you to shadow Anko instead of Asuma for the time being. Once the chunin exams are over, you may return to working with Asuma and his team. I received the report from them earlier and I must say Kessho, even though there was a hiccup, your team seemed to be much more unified.” The Hokage finished with a smile.

“Thank you Lord Sarutobi. I will go on to find Anko.” She bowed and made her way out of the room to wait for Kakashi. While waiting for Kakashi, Genma was approaching from around the corner. “Oh hey Genma!” She smiled.

“Kessho! It’s been a while. I heard you got injured on your last mission. Everything ok?” He asked

“Yeah it’s fine, just a few stitches and I need to wait for the muscle to heal, so sadly I can’t kick your ass… That is unless you want to try and see if me going at it with you one handed is finally an even match for you…” She smirked and narrowed her eyes.

“Ha! You wish you could beat me one handed. Just you tell me when and where so I can finally get back some of that money I spent on buying you those victory drinks.” Genma smirked.

“Well I want to let the wound close up a bit more so I don’t tear the stitching, but I was told that the arm needs two weeks rest, so how about I spar one armed with you next week.” She told him.

“Sounds good to me.” He shrugged as Kakashi exited the Hokage's office.

“Oh, hi Genma.” Kakashi gave a half hearted wave. Looking at her he asked, “Are you ready to go?” She nodded.

“Bye Genma! See you next week!” She smiled and waved goodbye.

“I’ll walk you to the building where Anko will be at. Also, I’m going to be gone for a few days… I just got assigned a mission.” Kakashi told her.

“Ok.” She held his hand and squeezed in reassurance. “I’ll make sure to take care of the dogs while you’re gone.” He continued to escort her to the building where Anko was. When they got there, Kakashi pulled her into a broom closet. “What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Well I’m leaving before you’ll probably get back home, so I wanted to give you a proper goodbye.” He smiled pulling down his mask. Bending down he gave her a deep passionate kiss before pulling her into a warm embrace.

“Stay safe and make sure you make it home.” She murmured.

“I will.” He told her before kissing the top of her head. Breaking the embrace, he gazed deeply in her eyes. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something, but I keep forgetting…. Why do you keep calling me star?”

“Because you’re what helps me make my way home.” She smiled while he chuckled. He leaned down for one more quick kiss before putting his mask back up. When he opened the door, he closed it just as quickly. “What’s wrong?” She whispered.

“It’s Anko. She’s right there.” He answered.

“I already saw you two!” Anko shouted as they both came out with red cheeks smiling awkwardly. Anko narrowed her eyes as Kakashi flickered off. “What exactly were you two doing in there?” Anko asked.

“Saying goodbye, he has a mission that he’s running off to.” She explained.

“Oh trying to get into a quickie before he leaves?” Anko elbowed her, but she shook her head. “So you guys made up though?”

“Yeah… I just felt like he was underestimating me and my skills, but he explained himself and I understand better now.” She answered.

“Sounds like you two are getting serious.” Anko commented.

“I guess… Still seems new to me.” She shrugged.

“Who would’ve guessed that someone would come along and melt cold Kakashi’s heart.” Anko smiled. She wasn’t fond of the idea of calling him cold Kakashi, but what was she to do? “Alright through here. We have cameras in the room where they’re waiting.”

“I’ll join you in a minute.” She told Anko. With discretion and ensuring nobody was watching, she teleported a new notebook and took it out of her pants. Just because she was suspended and couldn’t go on missions didn’t mean she couldn’t observe the sound ninja from here. She quickly joined Anko and sat in the seat next to her.

“These are the cameras we have observing the students right now.” Anko explained. The room was absolutely packed full of them, and they all seemed to be chatting amongst themselves.

“Who’s that one?” She pointed to a young man with grey hair in a ponytail.

“That’s Kabuto. He’s a leaf ninja. Why do you ask…?” Anko questioned.

“He looks familiar…” She commented. _He looks like someone I saw in the village hidden by sound… But he’s a leaf ninja…? I’ll have to pull up his file later. Now where are those sound ninjas? Who is that moving so quickly? Ah… It is one of them._ She thought while taking notes on their behavior.

“You don’t need to take notes you know.” Anko recommended.

“They’re my personal notes.” She told her.

“I never knew you were such a nerd.” Anko chuckled.

_Seventh try? Kabuto was on his seventh try with abilities to dodge like that…? Hmmmm…_

“So the test is designed to make them cheat?” She asked Anko.

“Yup. They need to try and communicate with their partners to coordinate too. To make sure they pass as a team.” Anko explained.

“Who’s that?” She pointed to the man with scars on his face.

“That’s Ibiki, he runs the torture and investigation division and works for the Anbu… Shouldn’t you know him?” Anko answered.

“Man, you guys take your shit seriously for the chunin exams, don’t you?” She asked trying to divert the topic from her lack of knowledge of regular Anbu agents and occurrences.

“Did you _not_ take the chunin exams?!” Anko belted causing anyone nearby to peer into the room.

 _This is getting into dangerous territory…_ she thought to herself. “I mean, I joined the Anbu really young, I was just kind of promoted as I went along…” She shrugged slightly embarrassed.

“Well, welcome to the chunin exams.” Anko motioned to the cameras before getting up and leaving the room. She leaned back into her chair relieved that Anko wasn’t prying anymore.

Continuing to watch the students, she saw them use different strategies to try and cheat and then relay the communications to their partners. Looking at the different camera angles, she just caught the end of Ino using her soul transfer jutsu… aimed at Sakura? Yes, that’s who. Thinking back to those days she spent training Ino, she felt proud of her student using the skills she taught her.

The test continued on as she kept a close eye on the students from the village hidden by sound. Then Ibiki announced that it was time for the tenth and final question. Anko seemed to arrive just in time with a bag of chips. Anko placed her legs up on the desk in front of her, leaned back in the chair, opened the bag of chips while offering some to her. She declined Anko’s offer. “More for me.” Anko shrugged as she continued to stuff chips into her mouth.

She heard Ibiki give the list of rules for the final question and the outcry from the students over them. “This guy is good…” She commented aloud.

“One of the best.” Anko told her before tossing another chip in her mouth. “There’s a reason why we asked him. There’s a lot more students taking the exam than usual, so we want to narrow the selection down pretty quickly here.”

“Some psychological torture is a quick easy way to do it… And it’s not like they wouldn’t see that kind of stuff down the line anyways. Smart.” She admired. “Looks like Naruto fucked up Ibiki’s plans some…”

“Yeah… That’s going to be annoying.” Anko sighed. “That’s one of Kakashi’s student’s, right?”

“Yup. Kid’s a handful. But his heart’s in the right place.” She replied.

“Well, right place or not tell Kakashi I’m not happy for the extra work. He owes me a beer.” Anko complained.

“I’ll tell him.” She chuckled. “Well there’s a plot twist…” She commented upon hearing the 10th question was all of the rest passing. Anko started laughing and almost choked on her chips. “Wait you didn’t know what the question was going to be?” She asked.

“NO! The fucker wouldn’t tell me!” Anko slammed her hand on the table and held her stomach with her other hand curling over in laughter which got louder as they continued to hear the students' responses. Once Anko finally calmed down, she got up and turned to her, “Come on, let’s go. I’ll do all the talking, you just stand there and look pretty.”

“Ok.” She shrugged and put her notebook in her back pouch before following Anko. Anko ran out of the building and up to the building where the students were taking the chunin exams. Wrapping herself in a cloak with two kunai attached, Anko jumped through the window where the students had been taking the chunin exams. _I don’t know how I’m expected to follow after that entrance._ She thought to herself before jumping up and through the, now broken, window. When she caught up to Anko she had just finished introducing herself.

“And here I have my lovely assistant, Nakano Kessho, who used to be in the Anbu. She’s helped me come up with ways to make this second round of the exam _extra_ hard.” Upon hearing Anko say that, she immediately opened her mind to listen to Ibiki’s thoughts. She didn’t need any problems forming…

 _Nakano Kessho… I’ve never heard that name in the Anbu before, though I don’t suppose we use names much… Even so she doesn’t look like anyone I recognize, though her hair isn’t too unique either. I’m going to have to look into her._ Ibiki pondered before having his thoughts lead elsewhere which she quickly tuned out. It’s a good thing there were forged documents giving her a background and history of her time within the Anbu, she thought it best to not reveal her voice to not give away anything else for Ibiki to be concerned about. When she finally came back to it, Anko had already dismissed the students.

“Where are we supposed to meet tomorrow?” She asked Anko.

“The 44th battle training zone.” Anko answered.

“Thanks, I’ll be right back, I have to let Kakashi’s team know.” She explained before running off. By the time she had caught up to team 7 they had exited the building. “Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura!” She yelled. They all looked back and slowly walked over to her. “Kakashi had to leave on a mission, you’ll meet tomorrow at the 44th battle training zone.”

“Oh sneaky-sensei! Can you tell us anything about the exam tomorrow?” Naruto questioned with hope in his voice. She in turn narrowed her eyes at him.

“Is that really something you want to ask me… Naruto?” She answered ominously. Naruto stepped back with a scared look on his face.

“Uhhhh… No… I’m ok thanks!” He answered quickly before sheepishly lowering his head.

“Make sure to get plenty of sleep!” She told them happily before walking off.

* * *

The next morning, she made her way to the 44th Battle Training Zone (BTZ) in a “borrowed” Anbu uniform wearing a Hawk mask as per Anko’s request. Anko thought of the idea over beers the night before when thinking of devious ways to use her expertise to further torture the young genin. She was fine with it and thought it might even be a little fun, but she wasn’t too happy about how clunky the uniform felt to her. It was certainly a lot harder to conceal her movements and not make noise. This uniform was something she hadn’t worn in over 12 years. It was going to take a lot of extra effort if she was going to follow around the students like Anko had asked her to do.

By the time she arrived Anko had just finished introducing the 44th BTZ as the forest of death. “Ah well if it isn't’ my devious Anbu assistant.” The mask she chose was a menacing Hawk that had narrowed eye slits, a beak, and stripes along it in blue and red. When she looked around at the young genin before her, she could visibly see all of them tense up as she faced them and in her periphery she could also see Anko smirk. Her outfit solicited exactly the response Anko was expecting.

Even still with everyone visibly freaking out Naruto began to mock the name “The Forest of Death”. Slowly she removed her mask and put on a dead face that lacked any emotion and looked directly at Naruto. Immediately he grew stiff and backed away closer to his team. Despite backing away, Anko threw a kunai that grazed Naruto’s cheek while she flickered behind him and pulled out another to hold to the oncoming grass ninja while commenting on how Naruto was a tough guy. The grass ninja snuck behind Anko and returned her kunai with his tongue. She made a mental note to look into this grass ninja that seemed awfully snake like. Anko being Anko, threatened the grass ninja standing behind her.

“This is going to be fun.” Anko told them before explaining about the consent forms. She simply stood there, continuing with the dead expression on her face, looking around at the various students. After explaining the consent forms, she then heard Anko begin to explain the survival test and the terrain. “The time limit is 5 days.”

 _That was_ **_not_ ** _something Anko had mentioned. I’m going to hate being in this uniform for 5 days. I’ll also need to make sure to grab my meds and food pills before coming back out here._ She thought while being slightly annoyed but kept the annoyance from her face.

“Last word of advice: just don’t die!” Anko shouted before walking over to her as the students dispersed. “You were perfect!” Anko whispered excitedly.

“You didn’t tell me it was going to be 5 days…” She mentioned in an annoyed tone while keeping the dead face and looking at the students. “I’m going to need to stop back home and get my meds along with some food pills. I’m also going to need to wrap the arm back up to stiffen it. I should be fine out there, but you can’t use me to step in.”

“Step in?” Anko laughed. “You won’t need to step in, in fact it’s forbidden. That’s why we have the consent forms.”

“Well I’d like the students to not die…” She told her.

“Oh it doesn’t usually come to that.” Anko reassured her. “Now go run off to get your supplies, try to be back within the hour.”

She nodded before putting her mask back on and flickered off to go get the supplies she needed. _As Shikamaru would say: what a drag._

* * *

When she got back to the grounds the students had yet to be let into the 44th BTZ. She walked over to Anko keeping her mask on. “The gates are about to open soon. You should make any final preparations before going in.”

“Is there anything you want me to do other than observe and relay info?” She asked.

“Nope! That’s all. Nice and simple for you. I’m going to go open the gates.” Anko told her before walking off to the young genin. After yelling at the students one last time, Anko opened the gates.

She quickly flickered to follow the sound ninja trying her best to stay as far as possible without losing sight of them. There was yelling in the distance. _Guess some group has already fallen prey_ she pondered. The group seemed to be very vigilant and keen hearing noises that wouldn’t normally be audible. So far they didn’t appear to have a direction that they planned on going in, they were moving aimlessly. After about an hour or two, she decided to return to Anko to check in.

When she got to Anko she was visibly distraught. “We need to go out there now, Orochimaru is here.”

“What? How do you know?” She asked Anko.

“There’s no time to explain, we just need to go. They appear to be disguised as the hidden grass ninja.” Anko commanded. “We can split up to cover more ground. If you don’t feel apt to fight, send a signal and I’ll head over.” She nodded and flickered back into the forest.

After going into the forest, she looked around areas she hadn’t already previously been to. She also thought it to be a good idea to open her mind to check if anybody has seen the grass ninjas. So far all she could hear were thoughts about scrolls, finding other teams, and attempting to take scrolls from said teams. This forest of death was starting to seem too vast if she was going to find Orochimaru before something happened.

 _What even is supposed to happen…? I know who he is, I know what he does… But why is he here?_ She wondered. The sun was beginning to set, and things weren’t getting any better. Off in the distance, she could barely make out a curdling scream. It was the only lead she had, and it was in a direction she hadn’t explored, so she decided to head towards where the scream came from in attempts to find out something… anything…

When she finally got there, all she could see were the remnants of an exhausted and hurt team 7. She jumped down from the tree and stood before Sakura. “What happened here?” She interrogated.

“There was some woman- I mean man- I mean I don’t know but they called themselves Orochimaru.” Sakura stuttered out while clutching to Sasuke.

“I see.” She crouched and touched Sasuke’s head to scan through his memories. The most recent ones were on the surface, and therefore always quicker and easier to find; these memories also took the least concentration. Without much time having passed, she was able to see Orochimaru, their disguise, the fight they had with Sasuke, and the curse mark they placed upon them.

“What are you doing?! He needs help!” Sakura ordered.

“I’m not sure there’s anything I can do. I have to go, but I’ll let Anko know, and now I know your location.” She informed her before jumping back up to the trees. As she was making her way towards the trail Orochimaru left, she could hear Sakura yelling at her in the background.

There was fighting nearby that she could hear, but it stopped suddenly. _Hopefully that’s not a bad thing_ she thought before concentrating on finding Orochimaru. Finally she arrived at the source of the fighting and saw Anko being rescued from three tigers by two Anbu members. She rushed over to them and saw the same mark that was on Sasuke’s neck was also on Anko’s.

“Bring Lord Hokage to the tower, I’ll explain everything there!” Anko yelled at the two Anbu.

“Go, I’ll help her to the tower.” She told them. They both nodded and flickered off. Pulling Anko’s arm over her shoulders, they began to make their way to the tower. “Sasuke was just given that mark you have on your shoulder.”

“Sasuke?!” Anko shouted. “This isn’t good by any means.”

When they finally got to the tower she rested Anko onto a chair and turned to the Hokage.

“Kessho…? What are you doing in your Anbu uniform?” Lord Third questioned.

“It was to intimidate the genin, but there’s more pressing matters Lord Third.” She bowed her head. Anko moved to explain everything about her encounter with Lord Orochimaru, as well mentioning that Sasuke has a mark now.

“Well Kessho… It would seem I should’ve given your previous opinion more thought… Well, there’s no use dwelling on that. Those sound ninjas are still here, correct?” Lord Third asked her to which she nodded. “I want you to monitor them closely. Call for backup as needed. Leave at once.” The Hokage commanded.

With that she left to go track down the sound ninja again starting with where she had last seen them. When she arrived at the location, it was clear they had left quite some time ago. There were however markings left on the moss on the trees that the ninja had left behind. It seems they didn’t worry too much about concealing their tracks… _Cocky genin ninjas… Although I should still probably stay on my toes considering we don’t even know if these sound ninjas are really genin or just posing as such._

Following along the tracks, she noticed the tracks slowly turning from travelling aimlessly, to now seeming to follow another set of tracks. _The pace of these sound ninja is quickening behind whoever they’re following… This doesn’t seem to be good._ She pondered. _It’s team Asuma…_ _Maybe they’ve seen something._

She jumped down from the upper trees to land next to the ino-shika-cho trio that were all watching something. When she jumped down, she had caught them by surprise as their bodies had stiffened and their mouths lie agape. “Sorry for scaring you.”

“Sensei!” They all shouted at once.

“Have you seen any sound ninja?” She asked them. They all pointed at the clearing up ahead. Rock Lee was fighting with them whereas Sakura was hidden under a cave created by a tree root with Naruto and Sasuke behind her. Perching down on the tree branch she had been standing on, she stood close watch. _There’s still no sign of foul play and the chunin exams are still afloat. I can’t interfere yet. It’s also morning and I haven’t eaten, slept, or taken my medications… I can at least do two of those._ “Do you guys have any water to spare?” She asked the trio.

Choji handed her some water which she used to take her medication. Afterwards she pulled out a larger food pill and watched while she ate. _They move with incredible speed… Speed I can’t even see… This is not good. If I were to attack, I need to do it unseen and when they’re not moving…_ she analyzed. _Their talents involve manipulating sound… makes sense. Being able to do so on such a level, that’s something that I didn’t expect. Lee is getting beaten pretty badly… That being said, it is unclear whether they are after Sasuke, or the scroll. Why is Lee interfering and protecting Kakashi’s team though?_

The trio began to discuss how strong the sound ninja were and how they weren’t sure they would be able to take them on. They were debating on ditching, and whether Ino felt comfortable abandoning Sakura. “Isn’t there something you can do sensei?” Ino asked her.

“I’m sorry but right now I can only observe. There’s no foul play involved right now, and until I see otherwise, I can’t step in. Also, a word of advice… Don’t underestimate the power of your guy’s teamwork. These guys are plenty strong, and I can’t recommend not going against them because me giving a recommendation would be against the rules, but there’s likely other teams that are within your ability to take down.” She advised. Ino turned away disappointed, but the trio as a whole seemed to be a little more confident in their demeanor.

Sakura began fighting the ninja now and was utterly defenseless against them. She thought it best to open her mind to see what is being thought, and whether others are approaching. The first thing that flooded her mind was Sakura being dramatic. As quickly as she could, she stuffed those thoughts away to try to focus in on the sound ninja. Well despite the dramatics she managed to hunker down on one of the sound ninja while the other two just stood and watched. When the sound ninja finally got Sakura off, the trio ran to defend Sakura and her team.

 _That’s actually kind of cute._ She thought to herself. _Oh… They just called Choji fatso… Well they’re dead._ That’s when she heard one of the sound ninja thinking Sasuke was the target. _But is he the target because he has the scroll, or because of who he is…_ She thought it best to pull out one of her sai just in case… _Well well… The trio seems to have things under control… I am pleasantly surprised._ But they didn’t have a hold for long. That’s when they mentioned they’re after Sasuke. She jumped further into the tree and quickly grabbed a paper bomb, doused it in red soot, and attached it to a kunai to throw it up into the air. By the time she got back down, Sasuke had woken up and had a strange energy radiating around him; flames seemed to be consuming his skin. He seemed to be fine but his thoughts… They weren’t ones she thought she should have.

The trio rapidly pulled out while the flames on Sasuke turned black. Sasuke went on the offensive as did one of the sound ninja, but Sasuke had him beat and dislocated his arms. Without even another thought, he moved onto the other male sound ninja, Sakura tried to stop him and the marks receded. With that the remaining sound ninja offered their scroll as they bargained for their life. After the team agreed, they admitted to having been assigned by Orochimaru to assassinate Sasuke.

By this time two Anbu operatives landed on the branch on either side of her. She quickly informed them of the occurrence asking them to relay the information to Anko. “Seeing as how everything seems to have returned to normal examination ordeals, I suggest we leave it be for now. I’ll continue to keep an eye on Sasuke now that we know he’s the target.”

“I’m sorry but you’re injured, I think one of us should stay.” The man with the bear looking mask mentioned.

“I can manage this just fine. If I need backup, I can let out another alert. I was assigned to watch the sound ninja for a reason, because they were suspected to be involved with Orochimaru. This was assigned to me by the Hokage himself, so if you want to argue my position, you can take it up with the Hokage. Is that really something you want to do?” She asked them with an intimidating tone.

“Eh I-“ He stuttered before regaining composure. “I suppose not. We will relay the information to Anko.” They bowed their heads before leaving.

_Maybe I should’ve been a captain of a team in the Anbu… Ah who am I kidding, I much prefer to work alone._


	31. Chunin Exams pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:   
> They began to watch the fight, which started out badly. “Come on Ino what are you doing? You know Taijutsu! You can fight better than that!” She groaned.
> 
> “Things not going your way?” Kakashi teased. Ino finally landed a punch to the gut and just as she was about to land another on Sakura’s face she… Slapped her…?
> 
> “The fuck was that…?” She uttered while staring at her pupil. “And they’re making it about Sasuke.” She groaned placing her elbows on the railing and her face in her hands.
> 
> “Seems Ino was letting her emotions get the best of her, so Sakura is trying to deliberately piss her off so she doesn’t take it easy.” Kakashi observed.

Two days had passed and only 24 hours were left. Kakashi’s team had not managed to get a scroll that they were looking for yet, but they also hadn’t run into any trouble either. They were eating along a river now, she grabbed a piece of bamboo and used her sai to whittle herself a cup. While doing so she could hear Sakura yelling at Naruto in the background, but what else was new. Once she finished with her cup, she went down to the river to grab some water and take her medication. She also used this as a chance to rinse her wound and rewrap with her bandages. It was starting to seal up rather nicely, and her arm seemed to feel more useful. Even so, she knew it better to keep resting it. She had a feeling she would be sent out soon after this round of testing to investigate Orochimaru’s position.

Once she finished wrapping up her arm, she saw the man with a gray ponytail… Kabuto, she believed it was, was there. She instantly crouched hidden away to watch him. _What was he doing here…?_ Kabuto convinced them with a strategy to head towards the tower, to which she followed along quietly. The newly formed team tried their best to conceal themselves with their surroundings and spread out. She kept herself closest to Sasuke to ensure safety of the target.

She saw Naruto fall for a trap and Kabuto use a substitution to protect him. _Maybe I’m imagining things and Kabuto isn’t a threat after all… No… There’s still something ominous about his energy…_ she wondered.

The hidden rain ninja that had been hiding finally showed themselves to the group. A kunai was thrown at Sasuke which Kabuto moved to help him dodge it and in turn got himself injured. _He’s either genuinely trying to help him, or up to something sinister…_ They fought with the hidden rain ninja, collected the scroll, and headed to the tower where they entered to turn in the scroll. With that she headed up to Anko to report everything she had encountered. Leaving out the suspicion of Kabuto, as she wasn’t sure if this was intelligence that she should divulge. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to head over to the Hokage to report this myself.” Anko nodded.

“That’s fine with me, less for me to do. I’ll buy you a round later tonight at the bar, you’ve sure earned it.” Anko suggested.

“I could certainly use it.” She chuckled. “I’ll see you there.” She told her before taking her leave and heading to the Hokage’s office.

* * *

Upon her arrival at the window, she was gestured to come in by the Hokage. Once inside she updated him on the events, this time including how she thought she saw someone like Kabuto in the sound village, and how she suspects him. “I would like to request permission to view his file Lord Third.”

“That’s fine, I will get it to you. Follow me, we are about to have a meeting with the rest of the jonin and students to present the results of the second round.” The Hokage dictated. With that she followed Lord Third into a new building, there she saw her silver haired man and joined alongside him.

“Well aren’t you looking dapper.” She flirted.

“Kessho?” He questioned with uncertainty. “Why are you-“

“Shhhh I’ll explain later.” She instructed.

They both stood by as the Lord Third explained the third portion of the exam. While they were speaking she leaned over to Kakashi to let her pinky graze against his, peeking over to him from the corner of her eye, she could see his mouth turn up ever so slightly. Feeling herself blush, she thanked that she was wearing the mask and went on to focus what they were saying before her.

“It’s just as we thought.” The Hokage mentioned to Ibiki and Anko while watching Sasuke.

“What do we do with him?” Ibiki asked.

“We lock him up in with black ops after taking him out of the exam. We have to keep that seal under control.” Anko answered.

Kakashi took a step forward. “Oh and you think he’s just going to go willingly? You’re forgetting… He’s of the Uchiha clan.”

“I don’t care what clan he’s from! If he stays he’s a danger to everyone! Don’t you see, the curse mark becomes stronger when he does!” Anko yelled. “That thing is feeding off of his chakra because it’s a forbidden jutsu.” She told him while holding her hand up against her own curse mark the way Sasuke was doing so now. “It’s incredible he’s still even able to walk around. Lord Hokage!”

Kabuto raised his hand to rescind himself from the next round. _Yakushi Kabuto… I’ll pull his file soon_. She made a mental note.

“I’ve seen that one before. This isn’t the first time he’s dropped out before a battle. What game is he playing.” The Hokage mentioned.

 _That’s not the news I expected to hear, but it does warrant and raise suspicion._ She analyzed. Anko pulled up his info.

“Yakushi Kabuto. He’s failed… six times in a row…?” Anko mentioned.

“Background?” Lord Third asked.

“Nothing impressive, just an all-around average student. But there’s something before his time here. Do you remember the battle of Kikiyo Pass?” Anko asked while Lord Third nodded.

She opened her mind to listen to the Hokage as he looked to her. “ _You’re reinstated effective immediately. You are to monitor this man as your actual Anbu self, not whatever this is..”_ He instructed while commenting on her current Anbu gear. She nodded in response and closed off.

Kabuto left the building, she would have to catch up with him later. Lord Hokage allowed Sasuke to continue with the exams, much to Anko’s dismay. Everyone was instructed to move to the upper level as Sasuke and his opponent prepared to battle against each other. Amongst the movement of people she used this to make a shadow clone with the real her slipping out of the building.

The real her went up to Kakashi’s apartment and changed into her usual Anbu outfit before leaving quickly to try and find Kabuto’s trail. Maintaining a cloak of invisibility she started from the building and tried to see if there was any indication to which way he went.

Her clone followed Kakashi up the stairs and rested on the wall behind him.

“So what’s with the outfit?” He asked while they watched the battle.

“It was Anko’s request to intimidate the students.” She chuckled, crossing her arms against her chest.

“So where are you really…?” He asked in a low voice.

“Picked up on that huh?” She asked before switching to communicating telepathically. _“I’ve been reinstated. I’m to follow Kabuto and keep an eye on him.”_

 _“I see, well congrats on being reinstated. Well that match was over rather quickly. Do you see the Sound ninja representative?”_ He asked in his mind. She nodded.

 _“Looks a little too happy for my liking.”_ She thought and he nodded in agreement before flickering off to Sasuke. With no point in keeping up the communications, she closed herself off.

Her clone walked over to Asuma as Kakashi left with Sasuke.

“So did you see our team at all while you were in there?” Asuma asked her.

“Yea I did. They worked well together. You would’ve been proud.” She mentioned while smiling underneath her mask.

“Now that’s what I like to hear!” Asuma beamed while looking down to his students.

The real her was still struggling to find Kabuto, and unfortunately she wouldn’t be able to call Kiki to help without going into the building to pick up the scent which would raise suspicion. She would have to wait. At the same time, maintaining the clone was an illusion she couldn’t feel herself able to justify the chakra expenditure for much longer.

Her clone turned to Asuma, “I think I’m going to go get some real food. I’ve eaten nothing but food pills for the past 5 days. I’ll see you tonight.” She waved as the clone walked out of the building trying to find the nearest crevice to disappear into.

_Finally._ She thought as her clone merged with herself. This tracking was useless. There wasn’t any lead to go on, and if there was… With the streets as full as they were now, it’s completely gone. She’s better off dressing as her jonin shinobi self watching to see if she can find him anywhere. As from her normal positionings it’s much harder to peer into shops and eateries. She decided to wait until nightfall to go to that building and try and pick up the scent there.

Going back to Kakashi’s she changed again to her regular shinobi uniform. Once she was done changing, she headed back to the building to check in on the students before wandering around. Noticing that Kakashi was back, she headed up to join him as opposed to joining Asuma. He was reading when she reached him. _Wait… Icha Icha violence?_ She thought. “Is that one new?” She asked him.

“Just came out today. I see you cleaned up. Couldn’t find what you were after…?” He subtly asked her, referring to Kabuto. She shook her head in response. Ino and Sakura came and lined up to battle.

“I bet Ino wins.” She told him.

“So you want to bet, do you?” Kakashi asked her playfully. She nodded with determination. “Well what do you want if you win?” He asked her. She switched to communicating telepathically as her requests would not be suitable for the ears of children.

“ _I want a session where I get to dominate you, respecting your limits of course, but you can’t be a brat… You have to submit fully.”_ She told his mind while narrowing her eyes. The very top of his cheek that was just barely visible due to the mask was a deep shade of red.

“ _Alright…”_ He thought. “ _But if I win, I want the same thing._ ” She nodded and stopped communicating telepathically.

They began to watch the fight, which started out badly. “Come on Ino what are you doing? You know Taijutsu! You can fight better than that!” She groaned.

“Things not going your way?” Kakashi teased. Ino finally landed a punch to the gut and just as she was about to land another on Sakura’s face she… Slapped her…?

“The fuck was that…?” She uttered while staring at her pupil. “And they’re making it about Sasuke.” She groaned placing her elbows on the railing and her face in her hands.

“Seems Ino was letting her emotions get the best of her, so Sakura is trying to deliberately piss her off so she doesn’t take it easy.” Kakashi observed.

“That might be true but it just means I failed to teach Ino something else instead.” She sighed.

“You can’t win them all.” He shrugged. The two fighting below had a stare down and finally seemed to start to take the fight seriously. Sakura knocked Ino to the ground by sending chakra to the right places. “Sakura’s doing well with her chakra control. Seems you might be in trouble…”

“Ino will bounce back.” She retorted, sure in her voice. The two below went on with hand to hand combat evenly matched for the past ten minutes. “Guess Ino hasn’t been practicing as much as she should’ve been.” She sighed. “The fuck did she just do cutting her hair like that… No… Ino… Don’t you dare do that…” She uttered as Ino began to make the sign for mind transfer.

“Looks like I’m going to win.” Kakashi teased which made her pout.

“She should not be doing that here and now… That’s not what it’s for, I’ve drilled that her into her brain.” She complained while Ino went ahead and used it. “Did it…” She watched closely and saw the chakra string wrapped around Sakura’s feet. She began laughing as Kakashi tensed up. “Clever girl…”

Both of them stayed quiet as the events unfolded. The mind transfer has been successful, and they both waited in anticipation. Sakura raised her hand and began to withdraw.

“NOOOOOOO! SAKURA DON’T LOSE!!!” Naruto shouted. She threw daggers with her eyes at Naruto, but he was too involved watching the match to notice. With that, Sakura's will overcame Ino’s mind transfer.

“Fuck. I warned her about that….” She groaned, returning her face into her hands. Kakashi seemed to relax as the two below switched back to hand to hand combat. Both below hit each other simultaneously and were unable to continue in a double knock out. “That was... anti-climactic.” Kakashi and Asuma both jumped down to retrieve their students and brought them up to the second level to let them rest.

After a few moments Ino woke up and she crouched beside her. “I’m proud of you Ino. Your chakra string was clever. You did good.” Ino looked up and smiled. “I’m heading out now.” She told the group. “I’ll see you two later.” She mentioned in reference to Kakashi and Asuma.

* * *

After an hour of roaming, she finally found him walking into the hospital. Once walking into the hospital she went around a corner and tied her hair into a low bun. Afterwards she shrouded herself in invisibility, diffused her chakra amongst her body with the exception of on her hands and legs to crawl on the ceiling above him to follow him silently. She opened her mind to read his thoughts, but there didn’t seem to be much with the exception of trying to find a specific room. Her gut was starting to wrench as she feared exactly where he might be going. Once they got to one of the higher up floors, she saw an Anbu agent located outside a room towards the end of the hall. She knew she had to stop him now, this way the Anbu agent ahead can grab him if he tries to escape.

Quietly, she dropped down, pulled her sai and poked the tip to his back while grabbing onto his shoulder. Only then did she reveal herself to him before asking, “What does Orochimaru want with Sasuke?”

Kabuto scoffed, “What makes you think that I have anything to do with Orochimaru?”

“Oh so you’re visiting Sasuke out of the kindness of your heart are you?” She spoke lowly.

“Well if I wasn’t, it’s not like you’d have any proof to connect me otherwise.” He told her slyly.

“What are you up to…?” She hissed.

“Nothing you won’t find out in time.” He told her before sliding down against her sai and escaping the grip she had on his shoulder. He began to run forward towards the end of the hall throwing a kunai. The Anbu agent dodged the kunai which then made Kabuto just out of their grasp, but the kunai was never meant for the Anbu agent… It was meant to break the window up ahead for him to jump through and escape. While she chased behind him as fast as she could down the hall, she watched him escape as Kakashi ran up behind her.

“Kabuto…” Kakashi groaned.

“It’ll be fine… He made a mistake.” She told him with reassurance in her voice.

“Which was…?” He asked, waiting.

She studied the blood on her sai before answering, “I have his scent… Anyways. I’ll meet you later. I’m going to go report this to the Hokage. I’ll see you later tonight.” She started to walk off but he grabbed her hand.

“Are you sure?” He asked concerned.

“Don’t worry, I’m still injured… I’ll have a week off before going off anywhere.” She smiled as she slipped out of his grasp and headed to the Hokage’s office.

* * *

Once she got there she was let in immediately and she locked the door behind her.

“I was told about the hospital. You let him get away… Why?” Lord Third asked.

“He leaned into my sai and cut his back.”

“Ah… You have his scent now do you?” The Hokage asked.

“Yes. I think it would be wise to wait until I am fully healed then send me back to the sound village directly. By the time I’ve healed they’ll think that they aren’t being pursued and we lost their tracks. They’ll let their guard down and that’s when I can infiltrate. That is… If it’s alright with you of course Lord Third.” She asked, bowing her head.

“Well you certainly have thought of everything it seems. Very well. Once you are healed you are to go out to the hidden sound village, but not as Kessho. They have seen your face, so take extra precaution.” He warned.

“Yes my Lord.” She bowed, unlocked the door, and left.

* * *

_Well I guess today is going to be a lazy week… I should probably go buy Icha Icha violence then to entertain myself with!_ She giggled to herself as she did an odd mixture of skipping and running to the bookstore. Kakashi was walking past and caught her.

“Where are you off to in such a good mood?” His curiosity having peaked.

“I’m going to go get my own copy of Icha Icha violence.” She smiled. “Want to come with?”

“Why not?” He shrugged and smiled joining her as her pace slowed to a walk. Once they arrived in the bookstore she went towards the back corner where the adult romance novels resided. Scanning through the shelves, she couldn’t seem to find the novel. She walked over to the nearest employee and asked, “Hi I’m looking for the new Icha Icha novel, but I can’t seem to find it…” She smiled.

“Well that’s because they’re all back here! So glad to hear you’re a fan!” She heard a voice boom from behind the employee. When she peaked around the employee she saw a man with long white sideburns, and even longer hair in the back giving a toothy grin, smiling with his eyes closed. She approached the man who was beaming with pride only to see his jaw drop when he finally opened his eyes. “Now did my ears deceive me or are you the lovely lady interested in my novels?!” He asked with such charm.

It was strange, she didn’t normally lose control of her body so easily, but she couldn’t help but blush. “Who are you exactly…?” She asked sheepishly.

“Why I’m the author of the book you’re seeking of course! I must say I didn’t expect such a woman as you to be interested in my stories, but it certainly makes me happy to see you’re interested in them.” He winked at her and she… swooned?

 _Get it together Kessho_ she told herself. “Oh I’m more than interested, they’re my favorite series!” She smiled with enthusiasm this time instead of shying away. _Ok that’s progress…_

“Well how about I get you a signed copy! Wait a second… Don’t I know you…? I never forget a body, and I must say I think I’ve seen yours before…” He drifted off while standing up to check her out. Kakashi seemed to step in and place his hand on Jiraiya’s shoulder and pushing him back down into his seat. Truthfully she had forgotten Kakashi was with her.

“Now Jiraiya, don’t you think that’s a little much…?” Kakashi told him with a tense smile.

 _Is this what meeting a celebrity is like…? Is that what’s happening to me…?_ She pondered. “I don’t think we’ve met. I have a feeling I would've remembered if we had…” She looked down and bit her lip for a brief second. Kakashi came around to her left side and put his arm over her shoulders, to which she recoiled in pain. “Fuck.” She pulled the left side of the neck of her sweatshirt up to peer down the arm to make sure there wasn’t any bleeding that she could see.

“Are you ok, did I-“ Kakashi stammered.

“No it’s fine, just don’t lean on it.” She mumbled.

“Are you ok my dear?” Jiraiya asked with concern that she wasn’t quite sure was sincere.

“I’m fine, I just got injured after taking on 10 men by myself, no biggie.” She chuckled. _Why am I bragging…?_

“Oh what a fine lady kunoichi you must be, and a sexy one at that. I bet you’ve seduced plenty of information out of men in your time…” He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Only every once in a while…” She tried to say as nonchalantly as she could while finishing with a giggle.

“Well here’s to my favorite Lady Kunoichi, such a majestic name for a majestic woman.” He handed her a signed copy and she couldn’t help but giggle again and smile like a dope. Carrying the book against her chest, she giggled all the way to the register where she paid for the book. Before walking out of the door Jiraiya called out, “Who knows Lady Kunoichi… Maybe I’ll write about you in my next book… You’re certainly one to… Inspire!”

Kakashi pulled her out of the store and she could feel herself flushed with cheeks red and hot. “That was uncharacteristic of you.” He told her with slight bitterness in his tone. That’s when she realized, with how she had been acting… Kakashi was… a tad jealous.

“Are you… Jealous?” She asked cautiously to gauge his reaction.

“I just didn’t expect you to react like that.” He was trying his best to show little to no emotion.

“ **I** didn’t expect to react like that… Truth be told I don’t know what came over me.” She tried to console him while following him up to his apartment.

“What… Like you were starstruck?” He asked with genuine disbelief.

“I guess… I don’t know, I’ve never really experienced it before.” She admitted walking into the apartment and placing her new book on the coffee table. “I’m going to go shower and check my arm.” When she got into the bathroom she took off her sweatshirt and undid her bandages. She looked at her arm and saw there was a little dried blood, but the wound hadn’t opened, at least not that she could tell. Kakashi knocked at the door before coming in. He gently grabbed hold of the injured arm and saw the little bit of dried blood.

“I really am sorry about that. I let my emotions get the best of me.” He muttered but not out of anger, she could see he was beating himself up over it.

“Hey… Look at me.” She ordered quietly. Snaking her good hand around his neck, she pulled him into a soft kiss that she let linger. Just barely parting her lips from his, she spoke so closely to his mouth that as she did her lips brushed against his mask. “Join me…” She bit her lip and stepped back, and continued to undress before him. Distracted, he simply watched. It wasn’t until she popped her butt out while turning on the shower and closing the door behind her that she heard him quickly undress. The hot water ran down her back, relieving some of the tension from having been out in the wilderness for 5 days straight.

The door to the shower opened and closed leading to the sound of water splashing on the floor as Kakashi grew near. He wrapped his arms around her waist as he enveloped her before leaning down to kiss her cheek. Slowly he retracted his arms and grabbed a washcloth to clean the dried blood off of her wound. She could feel the delicate touches from the cloth as he traced the outline of her wound, the gesture making her feel so loved. Whatever feelings of jealousy or starstruckness they felt before had now dissipated as they both felt the water pouring on them from above. Drops of water sliding down her curves while the drops on him followed the definition of his muscles, which she found herself tracing the outlines of with her fingers as she studied his body.

His index finger tilted her chin up ever so slightly as he closed in for a kiss. She couldn’t help but smile against his lips, but the longer the kiss lasted, the deeper it became. The deeper the kiss became, the more intense and the smile soon faded and was replaced with a sense of longing. He had both hands around her waist pressing her into him, but both of her arms were on his chest. She wanted to grab onto something but there was nothing there but his naked body. Snaking her hand around his neck and up to his head, she interlaced her fingers in his hair and gripped as if she would let go she would lose him.

She could feel his length hardening as the kiss went on and their tongues danced. His girth thickened and she could feel it slowly rise between her thighs stopping on the outside of her slit. One of the hands around her thigh and lifted her knee to the height of his hip and maneuvered his rod to her entrance. Pulling on her leg causing her to lean forward while he thrust his hips against her he was able to slowly insert himself inside her. Swiftly, he grabbed her other leg to pick her up and move her out from under the shower head while carrying her. Using her good arm she let go of Kakashi’s hair and put her hand on his shoulder to start bouncing to thrust herself into him as she grips his hips with her thighs.

She rested her head on his chest while she bounced on him, listening to his heartbeat increase in pace as moans escaped him. While her pace increased she began to leave little kisses across his chest. He pushed his head down to meet her forehead in an intense gaze as she continued to bounce himself into her. His hair, drenched in the water, completely covered his sharingan, but the visible eye she could see was filled with lust and desire. She could feel heat building up between them but she could also feel him tiring out from holding this position. Once she slowed he dropped one leg then the other putting her carefully back on the floor of the shower.

The instant she was safely on the ground, he took both hands to cup her face and kissed her. With the shock of the suddenness of it, her mouth opened and his tongue explored while they slowly backed towards a shower wall. She turned around with her back to him, he moved her long hair to one side to expose her neck as he kissed along it. After lifting her leg and placing it on the stool, she pressed her hips back to grind into him. He took a wider stance and bent his knees a little to insert himself into her once again. This time with some heat still having built up, his pace was rapid. The shower was filled with the sound of their wet skin slapping together as he thrusted into her. His hands gripping tightly to her hips to use as leverage while her hands were free to roam. Her hand went to cupping her breast, pinching her nipple, to slowly move down her stomach, to feeling her clit, to begin rubbing it in a circular motion. The pleasure that arose led her to moan and squeeze her walls around Kakashi as she could feel herself getting close.

“Fuck… Kessho.” He groaned, slowed his pace and leaned down to her “I love watching you touch yourself.”

She looked over her shoulder and bit her lip only to have a moan escape. Once she finally could, “Don’t stop.” She whimpered. Moving one hand to her shoulder, he picked up the pace and used the hand on her shoulder to press himself into her harder than before. The rush and pace of it all set her off and she could feel her walls close around his girth; with a thrust later, his release came as well.

They both rode out their waves, slowly returning to each other holding in an embrace, feeling the closeness they had just experienced. When she turned her face up to meet her gaze with his, he instinctively moved down to give her a soft peck. Once the kiss broke it was then they actually moved to wash themselves and finish the shower. Kakashi finished first, while she took a little longer due to her extremely long hair needing to be washed.

Once she finally got out, she wrapped her hair in a bun on the top of her head, and walked to the dresser to pull out some underwear and a bra. She mentally went through her wardrobe back at her place trying to think of something to wear. After a few minutes, she decided on a red plaid miniskirt, a fishnet top, with a black cropped halter top seeing as how her bandages could be extended upwards to cover her Anbu tattoo. To finish off she went and gave herself a smokey eye and some red lipstick and some boots which she put on by the door before grabbing her leather jacket. Kakashi joined her although he was much more simply dressed, with his skin tight shirt mask, a plain black sweatshirt on top, and some jeans. They both walked out the door with Kakashi locking it behind him as they made their way to the bar.


	32. Chunin Exams Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> “But ladies! Don’t worry, you’d have Master Jiraiya here for you!” She heard a familiar voice and turned to search for it to see Jiraiya at the bar striking out with a couple of ladies when his eyes caught hers. The heat rose to her cheeks, and it wasn’t from the alcohol. Quickly, she turned away, but it was too late… “Ah well if it isn’t my favorite Lady Kunoichi!” Jiriaya beamed walking over to sit beside her.
> 
> Kakashi put down his beer and raised his mask while visibly tensing up. Before he could retract his arms, she grabbed a hold of his hand and smiled a soft, loving smile at her silver haired man. “Awwwww so cute!” Anko said before Jiraiya sat down between Anko and her, putting his arms around them both.

“Alright, now drink up!” Anko instructed by placing a shot of sake in front of her, to which she obeyed.

“How’d Shikamaru and Choji do after I left?” She asked Asuma.

“Well Shikamaru made it through to the next round, Choji did not.” Asuma shrugged before taking a sip of his beer.

“How’d Naruto do?” She asked, turning to Kakashi.

“Oh he made it to the next round.” He said smiling. “In fact… My team seems to be the only one here that has two students moving to the next round.” Those seemed to be fighting words as all three of the other team leaders started to argue with Kakashi over it.

Anko, who was pouring her another shot of sake, handed it to her and simply said: “Drink up.” They both took shots together. She turned to Anko who was deep in thought and unusually quiet.

“Are you ok…?” She asked with concern.

“I will be. Just... a lot got drudged up…. But I’ll be ok.” Anko half smiled. There was more she wanted to do for Anko, but she wasn’t quite sure what, so she awkwardly tried to hug Anko. Much to her surprise Anko just gave herself into the hug, so she kept it up awkwardly for as long as Anko needed. After a few moments Anko’s mood seemed to change, “Alright so now tell me all about how you and Kakashi are doing!”

_ Well that’s not the outcome I wanted.  _ She thought while pouring herself a shot and taking it quickly. “Why are you always asking me? Why not ask Kakashi how we’re doing?!” She asked turning to him to which he grew wide eyed and began drinking his beer and pointing to it as if to say that he can’t speak because his mouth is occupied. She narrowed her eyes in response while Anko looked between them both expectantly.

“But ladies! Don’t worry, you’d have Master Jiraiya here for you!” She heard a familiar voice and turned to search for it to see Jiraiya at the bar striking out with a couple of ladies when his eyes caught hers. The heat rose to her cheeks, and it wasn’t from the alcohol. Quickly, she turned away, but it was too late… “Ah well if it isn’t my favorite Lady Kunoichi!” Jiriaya beamed walking over to sit beside her.

Kakashi put down his beer and raised his mask while visibly tensing up. Before he could retract his arms, she grabbed a hold of his hand and smiled a soft, loving smile at her silver haired man. “Awwwww so cute!” Anko said before Jiraiya sat down between Anko and her, putting his arms around them both.

“So I see you two lovely ladies are enjoying some drinks, how about I treat you both to the next round?” Jiraiya offered. Kakashi retracted his hand quickly.

“That sounds wonderful Master Jiraiya!” Anko exclaimed.

“Ah so I see my name is reaching new heights all thanks to my book!” Jeriaya beamed.

“Book? No. I know you because you’re one of the Legendary Sanin.” Anko corrected.

“Wait you’re also that Jiraiya?” She asked in awe.

“Why yes of course my Lady Kunoichi.” He charmed, “Do I not look it?”

“No it’s not that… It’s just… I didn’t know you were multi-talented…” She stammered flustered.

“Kessho I’ve never seen you like this before… It’s a little weird.” Anko looked at her with an expression of shock and confusion.

“Yeah Kessho, what’s the deal? I thought you were a badass!” Asuma teased but she started to get a little frustrated at the ineptitude her own body was showing her.

“Now, now, It’s not her fault! Many have fallen victim to my reputation and charms.” Jiraiya stepped in with pride. She felt herself pouting visibly now.

_ The fuck am I doing. I am a badass.  _ She thought as she poured herself a shot of sake and drank it quickly.

“Wait… I remember you now… I was doing research and…” His eyes grew wide, but not in a ‘I’ve been caught doing something I shouldn’t’ way, but in a ‘dramatic realization’ way. Her instincts kicked in at this point. He knew something he wasn’t supposed to and she could tell. Without giving it any thought, she stood up and dragged him out of the bar and into the nearby alley.

Using her chakra, she pushed it up to remove the drunken haze from her mind, sensed to see if there was anyone listening in nearby. Jiraiya’s charm had seemingly turned off as he looked down at her. She crossed her arms under her chest and demanded, “What do you know?”

“I was researching for my novel and saw you in a mixed bath house with a man… But that man was Murata Goro, the lead mafia boss from the village hidden in the waterfall. I saw you assassinate him with a pin from your hair after seducing him. I must say, you must have been quite convincing to be able to get him to let his guard down enough like that. You are a much better Lady Kunoichi than I originally thought.” Jiraiya explained with nothing but seriousness and sincerity in his tone. “So is that wound real or are you simply hiding your Anbu tattoo?”

“I ask the questions here.” She told him sternly. “So, if you saw all of that I’m assuming you saw what happened to his bodyguards after they noticed he was dead.” He nodded. “Why shouldn’t I do that to you?” She asked with a threatening tone.

He chuckled, “While I think you’d put up a good fight I could still take you on.”

She softened her face, and squeezed her breasts with her upper arms while her hand brushed her hair over her ear, she actually reached into her hair to pull a spare senbon to keep hidden in her hand. With her injured arm she reached to feel his while biting her lip and moving closer to him. He grew an expectant smile on his face while she then slowly craned both of her hands around his neck, pulled him in, and scratched his neck with senbon without breaking skin and seductively asked “Are you sure?”

In an instant he tensed up and began to chuckle nervously. “Ok ok, well It’s not like I would say anything, besides you did a good thing, and I’m sure it was sanctioned by the orders of the hokage, and please oh please I have so many more ladies I want to see and there’s someone I want to find and Please don’t kill me.” He pleaded. She retracted the senbon and hid it again in her hair.

“I won’t kill you… No that’s too easy. I have the ability to erase memories, and I can erase all of that precious research of yours.” She told him while petting his hair. “I also have excellent tracking skills. I’m leaving you be because what you know is limited and out of respect to your stance. That  _ is _ all you know… Right?” She cautioned.

“Yes. I swear. I won’t tell a soul… But I may use you in my next book…” He smiled cautiously.

“I swear if you even make me sound like the character, I will end you.” She threatened.

“Well… See there’s a problem there… Technically I already did… It’s titled Icha Icha  _ Violence _ after all.” He mentioned backing away.

“What?” She asked dead-pan.

“Yeah I mean you were gorgeous even in that disguise and I changed the name and location and stuff but that really did help inspire the novel… I mean what’s hotter than a spy who’s sexy and seduces men only to end up falling in love with a spy sent to seduce her...” He admitted quietly. Without even thinking she punched him in the face and swept his legs out from under him. “I deserved that…” he groaned.

“If you so much as ever tell anyone about what inspired that scene you will be begging this is all I do to you.” She threatened but could tell he was trying to peek up her skirt. With that she left him on the ground and walked back into the bar.

Kakashi could tell that something serious had just happened, “Everything ok?”

“Just needed to straighten things out.” She said while readjusting her clothes. He nodded in acknowledgement.

“Dang Kessho, you already have Kakashi, did you really have to take Jiraiya too? I never pictured you two to be the open relationship type…” Anko complained.

“We aren’t.” She answered, grabbing onto Kakashi’s hand while Jiraiya sat back down between Anko and her.

“Oh, so Lady Kunoichi and Hatake Kakashi…?” Jiraiya asked and Anko nodded. “I like it.” He smiled at the two before turning to Anko and putting his arm around her, “Well it looks like it’s just you and me then, lucky you.”

Kakashi motioned to her asking if she was ready to leave. She took the final two shots from the sake bottle Jiraiya had bought and nodded. When they got up Kakashi came around and offered his arm to her. Once they walked out of the bar, he turned to her and asked, “What was that about?”

“He saw something he wasn’t supposed to… And it turns out that it inspired Icha Icha Violence…” She groaned before turning to study his face. He looked confused but tilted his head back in thought and slowly the confusion dissipated.

“I see it now… It’s really subtle, and the character looks nothing like you. I wouldn’t worry too much.” He reassured her.

“Nothing like me?” She questioned.

“Well apart from body type maybe.” He shrugged. She groaned again.

_ I’m going to need to keep an eye on the reception of this novel to make sure nothing happens…  _ The thought alone made her groan again. The rest of the way they walked in silence up to the apartment.

* * *

When they awoke they were immediately called into a jonin meeting with the Hokage. They sat alongside each other on the floor waiting for the Hokage to speak.

“The body of Gekko Hayate was found dead near Kikyo castle.” Lord Third announced. People around the room began to murmur at the news.

“This has to be Orochimaru.” Anko commented.

“Though it may seem that way, we think that Hayate was following a sound ninja spy named Kabuto. We don’t know for sure-“ Kakashi was interrupted.

“We should cancel the chunin exams and go after Orochimaru.” Some male jonin suggested.

“No I think not.” Lord Third began to explain how Orochimaru might be using the exam to gain alliances and how we should use it to ensure and strengthen the alliances we already have. The same jonin from earlier cried out in outrage while Kakashi settled him down. The Hokage then took that moment to explain how Anbu were being dispatched to collect intel from other villages about the strength in alliance and to collect any information about the sound village. “Besides, I have faith in all of you. If the time comes, the strength of the hidden leaf village will gather and fight if needed.”

They were all then dismissed. When she stood up, Genma, who had been sitting in front of her, turned around to face her. “You want to head to the gym to spar?” She nodded as she got up.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Kakashi asked.

“Of course it is, me fighting one handed is the only way Genma has a fair chance at winning.” She told Kakashi while facing him, but smirked and peeked out of the corner of her eye to see Genma’s face.

“Suuuuure. I’ll see you at the gym Kessho.” Genma scoffed before heading out. Kakashi got up once they were the only ones left in the room.

“I won’t be around much this week, I’ll be training and working with Sasuke. You can stay at my apartment if you want, or you can stay at your place. I’m sure we’ll find each other…” He smiled. “Please do rest though.”

“I will, I’m only going to be sparring with Genma, and it’s just to keep myself sharp. I will also only be using one hand. Might even tie it down to my side.” He chuckled at her comment before lowering his mask and giving her a quick peck. Before he could pull away she ran her hand through his hair and pulled him back down to her to entice him into a longer deep kiss where their lips met like lovers about to part ways. When she pulled away, she smiled at him and moved to pull his mask back up. Her hand still not leaving his cheek, she told him, “I’ll miss you.” He chuckled.

“You’ll still see plenty of me.” He smiled at her as they walked out together. After exiting the building, they waved goodbye and went off their separate ways.

When she got to the gym, she trained with Genma one handed and tied the injured one to her side. Just as she thought, Genma did win most of the rounds, but she managed to get a couple wins in herself. After the gym, she showered and headed to check in with Asuma and the training the team was doing over BBQ. Asuma’s wallet always growing empty with Choji’s appetite, she offered to chip in and pay half. Once they were done eating, she would head up to Kakashi’s apartment and read until she fell asleep on the couch. The next morning though, she would wake up in the bed with a little note left on the nightstand written to her by her star. This was pretty much the routine for the entire week, and it wasn’t until Saturday when she broke it.

After checking in with the receptionist, she sat down in the waiting room. Everything had healed up nicely, at least that’s how she felt it to be. It was time to see if she knew anything about her body at all. They called her and walked her into a room where she sat down and waited for the doctor to show up. Until then she simply laid back on the examination table and stared at the plain white ceiling.

“Alright, let’s take a look at that arm.” The doctor walked in. She removed her sweatshirt and fishnet shirt to reveal her bandaged arm. The doctor removed the bandages and pulled out the stitching to begin inspecting the arm with her chakra. After a moment or two, she let go of the arm and asked, “There. How’s it feel?” The doctor asked.

She moved her arm in circles, something she hadn’t done in over two weeks. “It feels great to finally move it again. So am I good to go?”

“Yea, I’m surprised myself but everything has healed nicely. You’re one of the few shinobi who seems to actually take things seriously and actually listen to the advice we give.” The doctor commented with uplifting surprise in their voice.

“Well I had a feeling I’d be doing something important soon, so I wanted to make sure I was 100% before I needed to. Thanks doc!” She beamed while getting dressed. With a quick wave she headed out to the Hokage’s office.

* * *

“Kessho, how can I help you?” The Hokage asked as she locked the door behind her.

“I have received the ok from the doctor, I would like to head out after nightfall, but I wanted to see if there was any intel I should know about before I leave.” She explained.

“Ah I see. Well unfortunately there’s nothing of relevance that would help you. Everything we’ve found out is pretty much surmised in the intel you brought back from your last venture to the land of sound. That being said, you are not to engage.”

“Are you sure sir?” She asked.

“Yes. Very. Do not underestimate Orochimaru. It’s with good reason he’s eluded us this long.” She nodded. “Also, I want you to return before the chunin exams final round. I want to make sure we have all of our jonin in the village to make sure we are protected. Is that understood?”

“Yes Lord Third.” She bowed her head.

“Well then, you are dismissed.” The Hokage motioned for her to leave.

* * *

When she left, she stopped off at the grocery store to get some ingredients to make some gyoza. While she was there she grabbed a few other things that were missing from the fridge and a fresh fish. After she grabbed everything, she headed back to Kakashi’s apartment. Once she got there she began making the gyoza from scratch.

After an hour or so she heard the door open, she quickly shrouded herself in invisibility and climbed up onto the ceiling only to see it was just Kakashi, home early for a change. She released the jutsu and jumped to the ground. “We really need to stop reacting to each other like this.” He chuckled.

“Well at least this time I didn’t pull out a weapon.” She laughed, going back into the kitchen to continue to package the ingredients to make gyoza. Sasuke walked in behind Kakashi.

“I’m only here to pick up a few things before heading back out.” He commented.

“Nonsense. You two must be starving and I’ve made plenty for all of us. I originally was going to leave this for you in the fridge to heat up when you got back, but I can cook it now. What’s a short break one of these days?” She told them smiling. She could sense Kakashi hesitating, so she told him this in his mind: “ _ I’m leaving tonight _ .”

He nodded and turned to Sasuke, “Why don’t we finish early tonight and we can pick up extra early tomorrow? I’m sure you’ll enjoy the food, and your body will enjoy the rest.”

“But sensei-“

“I’ve got fresh fish too!” She chimed.

“Well that settles it then.” He said closing the door behind Sasuke, hanging up his flak jacket, and then walking into the kitchen. “I make a mean nitsuke.”

“I didn’t know you could cook…” She commented suspiciously.

“You never asked.” He smiled as he pulled the fish out to start preparing it. Sasuke sat on the stool in front of them with his hands crossed against his chest.

“Wait… Are you two…?” Sasuke asked with his eyes narrowed.

“We are.” She smiled “But I’d appreciate it if you kept it to yourself. We don’t like to make a big deal of things.” Sasuke continued to grumble as he sat on the stool and watched them both cook side by side.

Once everything was done, they set out the rice, nitsuke, and gyoza on the table, and all three of them sat down to eat.

The nitsuke looked amazing, but she had never seen Kakashi cook anything other than simple things…  _ Although I was always the one offering up to cook most of the time, so I guess I never really gave him the chance…  _ She wondered. When she tried it, she was amazed, there was such rich umami flavor with a nice hint of sweetness to balance everything out. “This is amazing…”

“Thank you.” He smiled.

“So how’s the training going?” She questioned casually. Sasuke grunted his usual style of grunt to indicate everything was fine and Kakashi elaborated.

“He’s improving his stamina quite nicely. He’ll be needing it if I’m going to teach him my jutsu.” Sasuke’s eyes lit up. “Eat up. You’ll need the energy.” Sasuke began grabbing at the gyoza and stuffing his face while she set a few aside for herself and Kakashi. “So the bandages are off?”

“Yeah, everything is healed up nicely. Still have a scar though.” She smiled. Sasuke scoffed, but she ignored it.

The rest of the dinner was finished in silence except for a few small talk comments here and there. Kakashi walked Sasuke out while she cleaned up in the kitchen. When he came back inside he walked into the kitchen and stopped her. “I can take care of those later.” He took her hand and led her to the sofa where he pulled her into him. “How long are you going to be gone for?”

“Until the chunin exams.” She answered while running her hand up and down his forearm that was resting across her chest.

“That’s a while…” He commented, sounding a little dazed.

“Yeah but you’ll be busy training Sasuke anyways, it’s not like we’d be spending much time together if I were here.” She pointed out.

“True… But I’ll miss your presence. How the book you were reading is splayed out on the floor after having fallen down when you fell asleep reading, how you always make sure I have leftover miso soup and rice for my breakfast in the morning, and the little notes you leave for me…” He admitted.

_ He really notices all of it…  _ The thought made her smile, but also shed a tear.

“Hey…” She turned up to meet his gaze. “I’ll be back before you know it.” She pushed her tippy toes into the couch to push herself up enough to kiss his cheek.

“When do you have to leave?” He asked quietly, almost like he didn’t want to know the answer.

“Honestly… Now…” She hated to admit it, but she did need to go. She started to separate herself from him, but he started to encroach her until she was laying down underneath him on the couch.

“Please…” He lowered his mask and moved in to kiss her. Their lips touched softly at first, a simple peck on the cheek before parting for a moment to glimpse at each other before returning to a much deeper kiss filled with a sense of desperation. She snaked her hands around the base of his neck with one moving to tangle into his hair. They were quickly getting heated and she was finding herself lost in the moment, but suddenly she managed to pull away.

“Kakashi I-“

“Please… Not yet…” He begged with a sadness in his visible eye as she looked back she gave into the heartache. Cupping his face with both hands, she nodded and pulled him back in. The kisses grew breathy as they slowly started declothing between desperate kisses. They were able to get down to both being bare chested before he grew eager. Without breaking the kiss, he sat her up, grabbed both of her thighs, and carried her to the bedroom placing her down on the bed.

Once there they stripped completely before he pushed her down slowly as he towered over her deepening the kiss. His hand roamed to her thigh which he lifted to wrap around his hip, and as if on instinct, she did the same with her other leg and pushed him closer to her. Their hands roamed, feeling each other’s skin, occasionally stopping to grab and squeeze wanting more from each other. He pulled her over on top of him but she continued the kiss while laying on him wanting to continue having as much of their skin touch each other as possible.

Even just this naked make out session was turning them on immensely as moans filled the air around them. The sense of longing of each other causing them to act impetuously just wanting to be with each other as if it were the last time. She slowly moved back to slide herself into him, breaking the kiss for the first time since they reached the bed. The pleasure from his length caused her to arch her back and drag her nails down his chest as she straightened. Without a thought he grabbed her arm and pulled her down again, but this time for an embrace. Their foreheads pressed together and she began moving her hips to slide him in and out of her. As they stared at each other everything else seemed to fade away and all they could feel were each other’s hot breath as moans escaped them and the pleasure they felt as she rode him.

As her pace increased, the heat began to build, and their lips would meet occasionally brushing up against each other. His eyes grew lazy as he felt himself becoming consumed with pleasure. Pulling her in closer, he whispered into her ear “I love you Kessho.”

“I love you Kakashi” They exchanged with heavy breaths. When she slowly pulled up he pulled her in for another passionate kiss only to turn her on her back with him on top of her. Without breaking the rhythm she had been maintaining, he keeps thrusting into her. “I need you Kakashi.” She pleaded to him before he picked up his pace. When the pace quickened, they couldn’t keep their mouths together any longer as the moans grew stifled. The intensity built up between them as she kept clawing at his back trying to hold on to the moment and enjoy every second before the climax.

Loud groans filled the room as they both reached their ends and rode out the moments while holding each other in embrace. He got up and pulled her into a quick shower with him. When they got out, she laid facing him as he was tucked into bed.

“Sorry for the scratches on your back…” She apologized sheepishly.

“You left marks?” He asked while looking over his shoulder trying to see if he could see anything.

“Sorry!” She giggled. “I got wrapped up in the moment.”

“It was a good moment.” He kissed her nose. She moved her hand to the back of his head and started to massage his scalp. “Thank you… For staying a little longer…”

She leaned in for a quick soft kiss worried that if she lingered any longer she might get carried away. They stayed in silence staring at each other, trying to read each other’s faces. Kakashi’s face read love, pain, sorrow, and happiness, but mostly just love. She could see him starting to close his eyes and drift off into sleep. After a few moments, she got out of his embrace and made sure he was tucked in.

After putting on her Anbu uniform, she sat down quietly to write him a letter.

> _ My loving star, _
> 
> _ I hope you don’t mind that I left after you slept. I thought it would be easiest this way. I’ll be back before you know it. _
> 
> _ I know you’re probably starting to think back to before but, I’ll be back soon, and when I’m back I probably won’t leave for a long while. I  _ **_will_ ** _ come back. I’ll always come back to you. _
> 
> _ Love, _
> 
> _ Kessho _

Leaving the letter on the nightstand, she opened his window, put on her mask and left.


	33. Chunin Exams Interlude Extended

“Alright, now drink up!” Anko instructed by placing a shot of sake in front of her, to which she obeyed.

“How’d Shikamaru and Choji do after I left?” She asked Asuma.

“Well Shikamaru made it through to the next round, Choji did not.” Asuma shrugged before taking a sip of his beer.

“How’d Naruto do?” She asked, turning to Kakashi.

“Oh he made it to the next round.” He said smiling. “In fact… My team seems to be the only one here that has two students moving to the next round.” Those seemed to be fighting words as all three of the other team leaders started to argue with Kakashi over it.

Anko, who was pouring her another shot of sake, handed it to her and simply said: “Drink up.” They both took shots together. She turned to Anko who was deep in thought and unusually quiet.

“Are you ok…?” She asked with concern.

“I will be. Just... a lot got drudged up…. But I’ll be ok.” Anko half smiled. There was more she wanted to do for Anko, but she wasn’t quite sure what, so she awkwardly tried to hug Anko. Much to her surprise Anko just gave herself into the hug, so she kept it up awkwardly for as long as Anko needed. After a few moments Anko’s mood seemed to change, “Alright so now tell me all about how you and Kakashi are doing!”

 _Well that’s not the outcome I wanted._ She thought while pouring herself a shot and taking it quickly. “Why are you always asking me? Why not ask Kakashi how we’re doing?!” She asked turning to him to which he grew wide eyed and began drinking his beer and pointing to it as if to say that he can’t speak because his mouth is occupied. She narrowed her eyes in response while Anko looked between them both expectantly.

“But ladies! Don’t worry, you’d have Master Jiraiya here for you!” She heard a familiar voice and turned to search for it to see Jiraiya at the bar striking out with a couple of ladies when his eyes caught hers. The heat rose to her cheeks, and it wasn’t from the alcohol. Quickly, she turned away, but it was too late… “Ah well if it isn’t my favorite Lady Kunoichi!” Jiriaya beamed walking over to sit beside her.

Kakashi put down his beer and raised his mask while visibly tensing up. Before he could retract his arms, she grabbed a hold of his hand and smiled a soft, loving smile at her silver haired man. “Awwwww so cute!” Anko said before Jiraiya sat down between Anko and her, putting his arms around them both.

“So I see you two lovely ladies are enjoying some drinks, how about I treat you both to the next round?” Jiraiya offered. Kakashi retracted his hand quickly.

“That sounds wonderful Master Jiraiya!” Anko exclaimed.

“Ah so I see my name is reaching new heights all thanks to my book!” Jeriaya beamed.

“Book? No. I know you because you’re one of the Legendary Sanin.” Anko corrected.

“Wait you’re also that Jiraiya?” She asked in awe.

“Why yes of course my Lady Kunoichi.” He charmed, “Do I not look it?”

“No it’s not that… It’s just… I didn’t know you were multi-talented…” She stammered flustered.

“Kessho I’ve never seen you like this before… It’s a little weird.” Anko looked at her with an expression of shock and confusion.

“Yeah Kessho, what’s the deal? I thought you were a badass!” Asuma teased but she started to get a little frustrated at the ineptitude her own body was showing her.

“Now, now, It’s not her fault! Many have fallen victim to my reputation and charms.” Jiraiya stepped in with pride. She felt herself pouting visibly now.

 _The fuck am I doing. I am a badass._ She thought as she poured herself a shot of sake and drank it quickly.

“Wait… I remember you now… I was doing research and…” His eyes grew wide, but not in a ‘I’ve been caught doing something I shouldn’t’ way, but in a ‘dramatic realization’ way. Her instincts kicked in at this point. He knew something he wasn’t supposed to and she could tell. Without giving it any thought, she stood up and dragged him out of the bar and into the nearby alley.

Using her chakra, she pushed it up to remove the drunken haze from her mind, sensed to see if there was anyone listening in nearby. Jiraiya’s charm had seemingly turned off as he looked down at her. She crossed her arms under her chest and demanded, “What do you know?”

“I was researching for my novel and saw you in a mixed bath house with a man… But that man was Murata Goro, the lead mafia boss from the village hidden in the waterfall. I saw you assassinate him with a pin from your hair after seducing him. I must say, you must have been quite convincing to be able to get him to let his guard down enough like that. You are a much better Lady Kunoichi than I originally thought.” Jiraiya explained with nothing but seriousness and sincerity in his tone. “So is that wound real or are you simply hiding your Anbu tattoo?”

“I ask the questions here.” She told him sternly. “So, if you saw all of that I’m assuming you saw what happened to his bodyguards after they noticed he was dead.” He nodded. “Why shouldn’t I do that to you?” She asked with a threatening tone.

He chuckled, “While I think you’d put up a good fight I could still take you on.”

She softened her face, and squeezed her breasts with her upper arms while her hand brushed her hair over her ear, she actually reached into her hair to pull a spare senbon to keep hidden in her hand. With her injured arm she reached to feel his while biting her lip and moving closer to him. He grew an expectant smile on his face while she then slowly craned both of her hands around his neck, pulled him in, and scratched his neck with senbon without breaking skin and seductively asked “Are you sure?”

In an instant he tensed up and began to chuckle nervously. “Ok ok, well It’s not like I would say anything, besides you did a good thing, and I’m sure it was sanctioned by the orders of the hokage, and please oh please I have so many more ladies I want to see and there’s someone I want to find and Please don’t kill me.” He pleaded. She retracted the senbon and hid it again in her hair.

“I won’t kill you… No that’s too easy. I have the ability to erase memories, and I can erase all of that precious research of yours.” She told him while petting his hair. “I also have excellent tracking skills. I’m leaving you be because what you know is limited and out of respect to your stance. That _is_ all you know… Right?” She cautioned.

“Yes. I swear. I won’t tell a soul… But I may use you in my next book…” He smiled cautiously.

“I swear if you even make me sound like the character, I will end you.” She threatened.

“Well… See there’s a problem there… Technically I already did… It’s titled Icha Icha _Violence_ after all.” He mentioned backing away.

“What?” She asked dead-pan.

“Yeah I mean you were gorgeous even in that disguise and I changed the name and location and stuff but that really did help inspire the novel… I mean what’s hotter than a spy who’s sexy and seduces men only to end up falling in love with a spy sent to seduce her...” He admitted quietly. Without even thinking she punched him in the face and swept his legs out from under him. “I deserved that…” he groaned.

“If you so much as ever tell anyone about what inspired that scene you will be begging this is all I do to you.” She threatened but could tell he was trying to peek up her skirt. With that she left him on the ground and walked back into the bar.

Kakashi could tell that something serious had just happened, “Everything ok?”

“Just needed to straighten things out.” She said while readjusting her clothes. He nodded in acknowledgement.

“Dang Kessho, you already have Kakashi, did you really have to take Jiraiya too? I never pictured you two to be the open relationship type…” Anko complained.

“We aren’t.” She answered, grabbing onto Kakashi’s hand while Jiraiya sat back down between Anko and her.

“Oh, so Lady Kunoichi and Hatake Kakashi…?” Jiraiya asked and Anko nodded. “I like it.” He smiled at the two before turning to Anko and putting his arm around her, “Well it looks like it’s just you and me then, lucky you.”

Kakashi motioned to her asking if she was ready to leave. She took the final two shots from the sake bottle Jiraiya had bought and nodded. When they got up Kakashi came around and offered his arm to her. Once they walked out of the bar, he turned to her and asked, “What was that about?”

“He saw something he wasn’t supposed to… And it turns out that it inspired Icha Icha Violence…” She groaned before turning to study his face. He looked confused but tilted his head back in thought and slowly the confusion dissipated.

“I see it now… It’s really subtle, and the character looks nothing like you. I wouldn’t worry too much.” He reassured her.

“Nothing like me?” She questioned.

“Well apart from body type maybe.” He shrugged. She groaned again.

 _I’m going to need to keep an eye on the reception of this novel to make sure nothing happens…_ The thought alone made her groan again. The rest of the way they walked in silence up to the apartment.

* * *

When they awoke they were immediately called into a jonin meeting with the Hokage. They sat alongside each other on the floor waiting for the Hokage to speak.

“The body of Gekko Hayate was found dead near Kikyo castle.” Lord Third announced. People around the room began to murmur at the news.

“This has to be Orochimaru.” Anko commented.

“Though it may seem that way, we think that Hayate was following a sound ninja spy named Kabuto. We don’t know for sure-“ Kakashi was interrupted.

“We should cancel the chunin exams and go after Orochimaru.” Some male jonin suggested.

“No I think not.” Lord Third began to explain how Orochimaru might be using the exam to gain alliances and how we should use it to ensure and strengthen the alliances we already have. The same jonin from earlier cried out in outrage while Kakashi settled him down. The Hokage then took that moment to explain how Anbu were being dispatched to collect intel from other villages about the strength in alliance and to collect any information about the sound village. “Besides, I have faith in all of you. If the time comes, the strength of the hidden leaf village will gather and fight if needed.”

They were all then dismissed. When she stood up, Genma, who had been sitting in front of her, turned around to face her. “You want to head to the gym to spar?” She nodded as she got up.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Kakashi asked.

“Of course it is, me fighting one handed is the only way Genma has a fair chance at winning.” She told Kakashi while facing him, but smirked and peeked out of the corner of her eye to see Genma’s face.

“Suuuuure. I’ll see you at the gym Kessho.” Genma scoffed before heading out. Kakashi got up once they were the only ones left in the room.

“I won’t be around much this week, I’ll be training and working with Sasuke. You can stay at my apartment if you want, or you can stay at your place. I’m sure we’ll find each other…” He smiled. “Please do rest though.”

“I will, I’m only going to be sparring with Genma, and it’s just to keep myself sharp. I will also only be using one hand. Might even tie it down to my side.” He chuckled at her comment before lowering his mask and giving her a quick peck. Before he could pull away she ran her hand through his hair and pulled him back down to her to entice him into a longer deep kiss where their lips met like lovers about to part ways. When she pulled away, she smiled at him and moved to pull his mask back up. Her hand still not leaving his cheek, she told him, “I’ll miss you.” He chuckled.

“You’ll still see plenty of me.” He smiled at her as they walked out together. After exiting the building, they waved goodbye and went off their separate ways.

When she got to the gym, she trained with Genma one handed and tied the injured one to her side. Just as she thought, Genma did win most of the rounds, but she managed to get a couple wins in herself. After the gym, she showered and headed to check in with Asuma and the training the team was doing over BBQ. Asuma’s wallet always growing empty with Choji’s appetite, she offered to chip in and pay half. Once they were done eating, she would head up to Kakashi’s apartment and read until she fell asleep on the couch. The next morning though, she would wake up in the bed with a little note left on the nightstand written to her by her star. This was pretty much the routine for the entire week, and it wasn’t until Saturday when she broke it.

After checking in with the receptionist, she sat down in the waiting room. Everything had healed up nicely, at least that’s how she felt it to be. It was time to see if she knew anything about her body at all. They called her and walked her into a room where she sat down and waited for the doctor to show up. Until then she simply laid back on the examination table and stared at the plain white ceiling.

“Alright, let’s take a look at that arm.” The doctor walked in. She removed her sweatshirt and fishnet shirt to reveal her bandaged arm. The doctor removed the bandages and pulled out the stitching to begin inspecting the arm with her chakra. After a moment or two, she let go of the arm and asked, “There. How’s it feel?” The doctor asked.

She moved her arm in circles, something she hadn’t done in over two weeks. “It feels great to finally move it again. So am I good to go?”

“Yea, I’m surprised myself but everything has healed nicely. You’re one of the few shinobi who seems to actually take things seriously and actually listen to the advice we give.” The doctor commented with uplifting surprise in their voice.

“Well I had a feeling I’d be doing something important soon, so I wanted to make sure I was 100% before I needed to. Thanks doc!” She beamed while getting dressed. With a quick wave she headed out to the Hokage’s office.

* * *

“Kessho, how can I help you?” The Hokage asked as she locked the door behind her.

“I have received the ok from the doctor, I would like to head out after nightfall, but I wanted to see if there was any intel I should know about before I leave.” She explained.

“Ah I see. Well unfortunately there’s nothing of relevance that would help you. Everything we’ve found out is pretty much surmised in the intel you brought back from your last venture to the land of sound. That being said, you are not to engage.”

“Are you sure sir?” She asked.

“Yes. Very. Do not underestimate Orochimaru. It’s with good reason he’s eluded us this long.” She nodded. “Also, I want you to return before the chunin exams final round. I want to make sure we have all of our jonin in the village to make sure we are protected. Is that understood?”

“Yes Lord Third.” She bowed her head.

“Well then, you are dismissed.” The Hokage motioned for her to leave.

* * *

When she left, she stopped off at the grocery store to get some ingredients to make some gyoza. While she was there she grabbed a few other things that were missing from the fridge and a fresh fish. After she grabbed everything, she headed back to Kakashi’s apartment. Once she got there she began making the gyoza from scratch.

After an hour or so she heard the door open, she quickly shrouded herself in invisibility and climbed up onto the ceiling only to see it was just Kakashi, home early for a change. She released the jutsu and jumped to the ground. “We really need to stop reacting to each other like this.” He chuckled.

“Well at least this time I didn’t pull out a weapon.” She laughed, going back into the kitchen to continue to package the ingredients to make gyoza. Sasuke walked in behind Kakashi.

“I’m only here to pick up a few things before heading back out.” He commented.

“Nonsense. You two must be starving and I’ve made plenty for all of us. I originally was going to leave this for you in the fridge to heat up when you got back, but I can cook it now. What’s a short break one of these days?” She told them smiling. She could sense Kakashi hesitating, so she told him this in his mind: “ _I’m leaving tonight_.”

He nodded and turned to Sasuke, “Why don’t we finish early tonight and we can pick up extra early tomorrow? I’m sure you’ll enjoy the food, and your body will enjoy the rest.”

“But sensei-“

“I’ve got fresh fish too!” She chimed.

“Well that settles it then.” He said closing the door behind Sasuke, hanging up his flak jacket, and then walking into the kitchen. “I make a mean nitsuke.”

“I didn’t know you could cook…” She commented suspiciously.

“You never asked.” He smiled as he pulled the fish out to start preparing it. Sasuke sat on the stool in front of them with his hands crossed against his chest.

“Wait… Are you two…?” Sasuke asked with his eyes narrowed.

“We are.” She smiled “But I’d appreciate it if you kept it to yourself. We don’t like to make a big deal of things.” Sasuke continued to grumble as he sat on the stool and watched them both cook side by side.

Once everything was done, they set out the rice, nitsuke, and gyoza on the table, and all three of them sat down to eat.

The nitsuke looked amazing, but she had never seen Kakashi cook anything other than simple things… _Although I was always the one offering up to cook most of the time, so I guess I never really gave him the chance…_ She wondered. When she tried it, she was amazed, there was such rich umami flavor with a nice hint of sweetness to balance everything out. “This is amazing…”

“Thank you.” He smiled.

“So how’s the training going?” She questioned casually. Sasuke grunted his usual style of grunt to indicate everything was fine and Kakashi elaborated.

“He’s improving his stamina quite nicely. He’ll be needing it if I’m going to teach him my jutsu.” Sasuke’s eyes lit up. “Eat up. You’ll need the energy.” Sasuke began grabbing at the gyoza and stuffing his face while she set a few aside for herself and Kakashi. “So the bandages are off?”

“Yeah, everything is healed up nicely. Still have a scar though.” She smiled. Sasuke scoffed, but she ignored it.

The rest of the dinner was finished in silence except for a few small talk comments here and there. Kakashi walked Sasuke out while she cleaned up in the kitchen. When he came back inside he walked into the kitchen and stopped her. “I can take care of those later.” He took her hand and led her to the sofa where he pulled her into him. “How long are you going to be gone for?”

“Until the chunin exams.” She answered while running her hand up and down his forearm that was resting across her chest.

“That’s a while…” He commented, sounding a little dazed.

“Yeah but you’ll be busy training Sasuke anyways, it’s not like we’d be spending much time together if I were here.” She pointed out.

“True… But I’ll miss your presence. How the book you were reading is splayed out on the floor after having fallen down when you fell asleep reading, how you always make sure I have leftover miso soup and rice for my breakfast in the morning, and the little notes you leave for me…” He admitted.

 _He really notices all of it…_ The thought made her smile, but also shed a tear.

“Hey…” She turned up to meet his gaze. “I’ll be back before you know it.” She pushed her tippy toes into the couch to push herself up enough to kiss his cheek.

“When do you have to leave?” He asked quietly, almost like he didn’t want to know the answer.

“Honestly… Now…” She hated to admit it, but she did need to go. She started to separate herself from him, but he started to encroach her until she was laying down underneath him on the couch.

“Please…” He lowered his mask and moved in to kiss her. Their lips touched softly at first, a simple peck on the cheek before parting for a moment to glimpse at each other before returning to a much deeper kiss filled with a sense of desperation. She snaked her hands around the base of his neck with one moving to tangle into his hair. They were quickly getting heated and she was finding herself lost in the moment, but suddenly she managed to pull away.

“Kakashi I-“

“Please… Not yet…” He begged with a sadness in his visible eye as she looked back she gave into the heartache. Cupping his face with both hands, she nodded and pulled him back in. The kisses grew breathy as they slowly started declothing between desperate kisses. They were able to get down to both being bare chested before he grew eager. Without breaking the kiss, he sat her up, grabbed both of her thighs, and carried her to the bedroom placing her down on the bed.

Once there they stripped completely before he pushed her down slowly as he towered over her deepening the kiss. His hand roamed to her thigh which he lifted to wrap around his hip, and as if on instinct, she did the same with her other leg and pushed him closer to her. Their hands roamed, feeling each other’s skin, occasionally stopping to grab and squeeze wanting more from each other. He pulled her over on top of him but she continued the kiss while laying on him wanting to continue having as much of their skin touch each other as possible.

Even just this naked make out session was turning them on immensely as moans filled the air around them. The sense of longing of each other causing them to act impetuously just wanting to be with each other as if it were the last time. She slowly moved back to slide herself into him, breaking the kiss for the first time since they reached the bed. The pleasure from his length caused her to arch her back and drag her nails down his chest as she straightened. Without a thought he grabbed her arm and pulled her down again, but this time for an embrace. Their foreheads pressed together and she began moving her hips to slide him in and out of her. As they stared at each other everything else seemed to fade away and all they could feel were each other’s hot breath as moans escaped them and the pleasure they felt as she rode him.

As her pace increased, the heat began to build, and their lips would meet occasionally brushing up against each other. His eyes grew lazy as he felt himself becoming consumed with pleasure. Pulling her in closer, he whispered into her ear “I love you Kessho.”

“I love you Kakashi” They exchanged with heavy breaths. When she slowly pulled up he pulled her in for another passionate kiss only to turn her on her back with him on top of her. Without breaking the rhythm she had been maintaining, he keeps thrusting into her. “I need you Kakashi.” She pleaded to him before he picked up his pace. When the pace quickened, they couldn’t keep their mouths together any longer as the moans grew stifled. The intensity built up between them as she kept clawing at his back trying to hold on to the moment and enjoy every second before the climax.

Loud groans filled the room as they both reached their ends and rode out the moments while holding each other in embrace. He got up and pulled her into a quick shower with him. When they got out, she laid facing him as he was tucked into bed.

“Sorry for the scratches on your back…” She apologized sheepishly.

“You left marks?” He asked while looking over his shoulder trying to see if he could see anything.

“Sorry!” She giggled. “I got wrapped up in the moment.”

“It was a good moment.” He kissed her nose. She moved her hand to the back of his head and started to massage his scalp. “Thank you… For staying a little longer…”

She leaned in for a quick soft kiss worried that if she lingered any longer she might get carried away. They stayed in silence staring at each other, trying to read each other’s faces. Kakashi’s face read love, pain, sorrow, and happiness, but mostly just love. She could see him starting to close his eyes and drift off into sleep. After a few moments, she got out of his embrace and made sure he was tucked in.

After putting on her Anbu uniform, she sat down quietly to write him a letter.

> _My loving star,_
> 
> _I hope you don’t mind that I left after you slept. I thought it would be easiest this way. I’ll be back before you know it._
> 
> _I know you’re probably starting to think back to before but, I’ll be back soon, and when I’m back I probably won’t leave for a long while. I_ **_will_ ** _come back. I’ll always come back to you._
> 
> _Love,_
> 
> _Kessho_

Leaving the letter on the nightstand, she opened his window, put on her mask and left.


	34. Chunin Exams pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> “So what brings you to this little town?” she asked the man as she rubbed her leg up against his while squeezing her breasts together to show off her cleavage while her long blonde wig framed them.
> 
> The town she was in now was more populated. Slowly she was learning about Orochimaru’s recruitment process. It seemed he was only interested in people with highly specialized skills and/or jutsu, but his purpose was still unclear, and so was the extent of his current arsenal. About a week had passed at this point, and she needed to find his hideout soon.
> 
> “Just passing through on my way home. Thought I’d rest for the night, but something told me to have a little fun first…” He said, placing a hand on her thigh. She began reading his mind but it was only filled with lewd thoughts.

Once she was out of the hidden leaf and deep into the forest nearly reaching the land of sound, she pulled the cloth with Kabuto’s blood, bit herself, and used her own blood to summon Kiki. “Ok I need you to track the man from this blood here.” She crouched and held up the cloth containing blood to her dog’s face. After sniffing the cloth thoroughly Kiki tapped the floor with her two front paws. “Alright, point out the way.”

There were several scents, as Kiki pointed with her nose and lifting one paw in several directions.  _ Fuck… Does that mean they have more than one hideout or is Kabuto more on the move than we thought…? _ “Alright well the scent I want to go after is going to be more this way. We won’t be going into any towns, just the outskirts until we find out more.”

Kiki tapped her front paws again signaling she understood and was ready to go, and with that they were off.

* * *

The first town they arrived at the outskirts of was nearly deserted. After changing into a disguise, she had Kiki wait on standby. She walked into the deserted town in her black wig, blue contacts, and tattered clothing. Making her way to the local bar, she walked in and headed to the bartender.

“I’ve walked from the land of hot water in search for work… Please tell me there’s something I can do here.”

“Sorry kid, we barely have enough work as it is and not enough visitors.” The bartender told her.

“Oh… I see…” Her head hung. “Nobody in town has work? Not even odd jobs or  **anything** ? Please Ma’am I’m desperate…” She pleaded.

“Sorry kid, now scram!” The bartender yelled. As she walked out, she tried to look as exhausted as possible with a couple tears rolling down her cheeks. After walking aimlessly around the deserted town, she sat down and rested while continuing to cry. There she waited to see if someone would approach her, but after a few hours no one did.

_ Doesn’t seem like this is where they recruit.  _ She analyzed. After a few more moments she wandered off into the forest again before disappearing and changing into her uniform. With that she signaled to Kiki to continue.

* * *

“So what brings you to this little town?” she asked the man as she rubbed her leg up against his while squeezing her breasts together to show off her cleavage while her long blonde wig framed them.

The town she was in now was more populated. Slowly she was learning about Orochimaru’s recruitment process. It seemed he was only interested in people with highly specialized skills and/or jutsu, but his purpose was still unclear, and so was the extent of his current arsenal. About a week had passed at this point, and she needed to find his hideout soon.

“Just passing through on my way home. Thought I’d rest for the night, but something told me to have a little fun first…” He said, placing a hand on her thigh. She began reading his mind but it was only filled with lewd thoughts.

“Oh? Were you on a business trip before?” She asked, twirling her hair. Flashes of a seemingly powerful clan passed through his memory.  _ Finally… This might be it. _

“Yes, I was, but I don’t want to talk about work.” He said before leaning into her ear and nibbling on it.

“You got a boss you don’t like?” She teased. Flashes of Orochimaru and the fear he had from him passed through the man’s memory.  _ Got him. _

“You could say that…” He pulled away from her ear and pulled her chin to give her a light kiss.

“So you said home was far…” She said with an innocent tone. Flashes of his house passed in his memory but there was one flash that was not his home, it looked like a dark entrance.  _ That must be it _ . “But I’m assuming the place you’re staying at isn’t far…” She mentioned seductively. He looked into her green contacts and smirked.

They walked to an inn and up to his room. She walked over to the bed and sat down, he sat next to her and placed a hand on her inner thigh, running it up slowly. Subtly she reached into her wig, making it seem like she was pushing her hair behind her ear and pulled out a senbon. She leaned in to kiss him by pulling him in with her free hand behind his neck. The hand with the senbon then pricked his An mian and sent him to sleep.

Quickly she put the senbon back in her wig and got him undressed and tucked him messily into the bed. She grabbed the condom in his wallet and put some shampoo in it, tied it, and placed it into the trash. Grabbing the whiskey bottle, she took a swig and drained a quarter of it down the drain before placing it opened on his nightstand. She then checked his pockets and found a scroll containing information on the clan that he was presumably after to recruit along with some additional notes.

When she teleported her notebook, she wrote everything from the scroll down and placed it back into his jacket pocket. Making sure to keep everything the way it was, she went through the room. The dumbass had a map, with a subtle marking pointing to the hideout. To the average person, it would just look like a stain, but she knew better. Pulling out her notebook, she sketched the map and the location of the entrance.

With that she headed out the window and made her way into the forest where she got changed back to her Anbu uniform, and masked her scent with the wilderness before heading out.

* * *

__

It had been 3 days since she found Orochimaru’s hideout, but there was no sign of him anywhere. The hideout was vast, and underground. She found herself needing to climb the walls, diffusing her chakra, and shrouding herself to stay hidden. There was also having to maintain her mind open to drifting thoughts to make sure she could detect people before they could detect her, all of which consumed vast amounts of chakra. So far the portion she had checked didn’t contain anything of value. They seemed to be empty rooms, likely for his future subjects.

Finally she opened a door to a room with some books in them and some research papers. There were various lab materials as well such as microscopes, slides, mounting materials, chemicals to stain the slides… It seemed this was a room for processing samples, not actually taking them. While still being on the ceiling she crawled over to the bookcase and dropped a book onto the floor.

_ Seems clear.  _ She thought before dropping down. She looked at the research papers on the desk and began reading. They were mostly about regeneration. Pulling out her notebook, she began to take notes. They were studying regeneration and how the immune system’s response was attached to the ability to regenerate, this however was mostly in relation to wounds. When it came to studying cellular regeneration, they were looking at potential side effects and how to evade cancerous growths. It was all fascinating to her. There was a glove box next to the microscope, so she grabbed a pair and began writing down their research.

* * *

Another 5 days later she saw Kabuto for the first time. He was roaming around performing various experiments studying regeneration, but also various ways for jutsu enhancements. It was all fascinating to watch, but there was still no Orochimaru to be found. In the meantime, she hoped to write down everything she could about their research in hopes to uncover what their purpose was with Sasuke.

* * *

She had finally searched the entire hideout, but did not find Orochimaru. What she did manage to find was Kabuto handing off a map to a lacky of sorts telling them to drop off the next specimen at a different location, which confirmed her suspicion that there were multiple hideouts. There were 3 days before the chunin exams, and that hideout was between here and the Konoha, she decided it best to scurry along and scope out the next location.

* * *

The location was just as vast and took much longer to find than she expected. She ended up having to use Kiki to sniff it out as it seems she read the map wrong while upside down. The entrance to the hideout stood before her when suddenly, she heard some men approaching. Without a thought, she concealed herself and watched the men approach.

_ Sand headbands! What? Could they be working in conjunction with them? _ She thought. As soon as they went in, she decided it best to rush back to Konoha.

* * *

Due to concealment and the vast amount of students from elsewhere coming in, the exhaustion she was feeling, and the amount of chakra she had been using consistently during these missions, she took longer than anticipated and was now returning the morning of.

_ I know I need to tell the Hokage right away, but a short nap at Kakashi’s won’t hurt… Right? _ She wondered as she snuck in through the window and collapsed on the bed. Without another thought she was fast asleep.

By the time she woke up, the competition had already started. She quickly changed into her regular shinobi outfit and ran down to the stadium for the chunin exams. Rushing to the stadium she made her way up to the Hokage who was being guarded by a couple Jonin shinobi. In the background, she could hear Shikamaru battling… Temari?

“I need to speak with Lord Third at once.” She told the guard.

“Sorry, no can do. Everything’s already started and he’s not seeing people.” The guard dictated.

“It’s time sensitive.” She insisted.

“I’m sorry but the best I can do is relay the information.” The guard shrugged while she shook her head.

“The information is sensitive, I can only divulge it to the Hokage.” She continued to insist with an even more stern tone than before.

“I’m sorry but you’re not getting through.” The guard barked. She shook her head again and flickered past them running to the Hokage.

“Lord Third.” She addressed him when she reached him with the guards coming up behind her.

“Well Kessho, seems you’re making it a habit to make an entrance lately.” The Hokage commented acknowledging her, he then turned to the fast approaching guards. “It’s quite alright, return to your posts.” The guards were taken aback, but bowed and returned to their post.

“I’m sorry Lord Third but this is of utmost importance.” She bowed again.

“Very well, follow me.” He told her before facing the Kazekage, “Please excuse us Lord Kazekage.” Lord Third led her away to a private room where they could speak but she sensed someone was listening in. Giving him the hand signal that someone was listening, she proceeded to communicate telepathically. She began by telling him how the Sand might be involved and that he needed to proceed with caution, she then explained that there were multiple hideouts which is why she was unable to confirm the location of Orochimaru. Next she briefly discussed the type of experimentation they were performing and how she was able to identify Kabuto being present.

“I’ll present the full report to you within a couple days.” She finally spoke aloud.

“This is all very concerning. I await your report.” The Hokage told her before taking his leave.

She walked out to the stands to try and catch the rest of Shikamaru’s match, joining Asuma. “You’re back! And just in time too.”

While she wanted to watch the match, she couldn’t muster much energy or enthusiasm to respond, so she simply nodded and watched as the match unfolded. The match clearly displayed Shikamaru’s tactician mind, and how useful it could be, but without enough pieces to play and maneuver, he ended with a loss. “He’s going to make a great tactician some day.” She commented. Asuma and Kurenai both agreed. “Is Kakashi not here yet?” Asuma shook his head. “Late as always…” She mumbled sinking into her seat, resting her head and closing her eyes. Just as she felt herself drifting into sleep she heard a sudden uproar from the crowd. When she looked down at the arena, she saw Kakashi and Sasuke standing there. After they spoke below, Kakashi flickered and was suddenly next to her.

“You’re back.” He smiled while she nodded curling into him. This was way more affection than they would normally share in such a crowded place, but she was so exhausted she couldn’t quite help it. She could feel him tense up awkwardly and he took a moment but eventually just put his arm around her and settled in. Guy and Lee sat down next to him or so she thought she heard, but her eyes were closed.

Her eyes suddenly opened when Naruto came yelling to Kakashi.  _ Come on wake up Kessho, you need to stay alert… This isn’t just about a match anymore. There could be an attack at any moment _ . After slapping herself in the face a few times, she woke up fully and began watching the rest of Gaara and Sasuke’s match. Kakashi and Gai were discussing Sasuke’s training when Gaara shrouded himself in a ball of protective sand. To break into it Sasuke used some kind of electric attack that broke into it, Chidori is what Gai called it. Some arm came out from the ball…

_ Is that… Gaara must be… a jinchuriki…  _ She realized. “Kakashi this isn’t good.” She told him with wide eyes. “Wait… Something’s…” Suddenly a genjutsu started which she quickly released. Afterwards all the jonin stood up in a battle stance. Asuma and Kurenai went to the other nearby tower to check on things there. The tower where the Hokage was had an explosion and the Anbu rushed towards it. Within a matter of a minute the Hokage and Kazekage were within a barrier. An Anbu appeared before them along with sound ninja joined their side. “Kabuto…” She said under her breath, just loud enough for Kakashi and Gai to hear. Kakashi nodded while Gai’s eyes widened.

Gai pointed out the barrier again, showing that the Kazakage was actually just Orochimaru in disguise. The sound ninja began attacking to which they fought back. Gai and Kakashi made a coordinated attack, while she took a few on her own. While she had next to no chakra left, she began relying heavily on her taijutsu and fighting with her sai. They kept trying to take down the sound ninja, but the more they took down, the more seemed to pop up and now sand ninja were joining them. Kakashi went off to Sakura, who wasn’t under the genjutsu and started to communicate something to her. She did her best to cover him while he spoke to Sakura. Kakashi jumped off into battle again, to which she followed. When Kakashi jumped back to Naruto, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Pakkun, he instructed them with something, and they left the tower.

They all continued fighting as more sound ninja showed up. Kunai came at her from every angle, which she would quickly block or change direction of with her sai. Kicks, punches, jabs flying towards her as she tried her best to evade them all and land her own. She could feel herself reaching her limit, but she needed to try to get to Kabuto. Jumping over the fighter in front of her she slid under the kick of the next opponent and sliced Kabuto with a sai, only to have it be a substitution. “Fuck!” She shouted in exhaustion as she fought with the two men she had dodged earlier. Managing to get one of the ninja, she fought with the next, able to land a fatal blow, but not without also receiving a blow to her stomach herself. The blow she received was nothing more than a blow to the stomach, it pushed her with force against one of the benches which she hit and rolled underneath the one before. As she laid there she listened to the noises of the ninja continuing to fight feeling herself unable to get up from exhaustion. There were still sound ninja coming in before she drifted off into sleep.

* * *

She sat up trying to reorient herself. The room was white. White walls, white sheets, white curtains, the smell of sterilization, she was in a hospital. There was no more fatigue or exhaustion ailing her, and she felt her chakra replenished.

“Hey…” She felt a soothing voice and a hand placed on her thigh, when she turned she saw Kakashi in a chair next to her bed.

“How long was I out?” She asked.

“About a day and a half.” He answered. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, I was just exhausted from using up nearly all my chakra for the past two weeks and not getting a whole lot of sleep.” She answered slightly annoyed, there were more pressing matters. “What happened?”

“Kessho… the Hokage…” She could see the sadness in his eye and she knew… He didn’t make it.

“When can I leave?” She asked, starting to feel a little numbness settling in.

“Kessho I don’t think it’s a good idea to rush…” Kakashi cautioned.

“Rush what? I want to see Asuma.” She could feel her eyes leaking a few tears. The nurse walked in to which she quickly asked, “When can I leave?”

The nurse nodded and answered, “You should be ok to leave now, I’ll go get the discharge papers.” The nurse then walked off closing the door behind them.

“What of Orochimaru?” She asked without facing him.

“He’s still alive…” He mentioned begrudgingly.

“And Kabuto?” She asked while he nodded indicating he got away as well. “What are they doing for the fifth?”

“They’re debating now. No decisions have been made. What does that mean for you?” He questioned.

“I was told that I would be able to act in my own right as long as it was in the best interest of the leaf by Lord Third himself. At least until a new Hokage was established… But for now I’ll just act as my cover, a jonin shinobi…” She spoke trailing off. The nurse came in and handed her the forms which she signed. Grabbing some clothes that Kakashi had brought her, she changed out of the hospital gown. Before walking out of the room, she turned to Kakashi and instructed, “I’ll see you at home.” She turned to leave, but Kakashi grabbed her before she could, to give her a kiss on her forehead.

When she walked out of the hospital, she went to the nearest liquor store. There she bought a full sized bottle of top shelf sake, and two packs of the brand of cigarettes Asuma smokes. Next she headed to the BBQ joint he always took Choji and ordered some food to go. Once she got everything, she made her way to Asuma’s. Quietly she knocked on the door. At first it was silent, but after a few moments she heard some footsteps to the door, then nothing.

“I have smokes, good sake, and food.” She shouted for him to hear. That’s when she heard the door unlock and she let herself in. The apartment was a mess with beer cans scattered around. Asuma was in a white undershirt and his jonin pants with the sash on his waist. She moved some of the beer cans and placed the bag containing food on the coffee table with the bottle of sake beside it. After tossing him the smokes, she started to walk to the kitchen to get some shot glasses.

“Don’t bother.” Asuma told her with a raspy voice as he uncorked the bottle and took a swig. He reached into the bag and grabbed his share of food. She joined him and sat next to him on the couch and began to eat herself. After finishing their food in silence and having taken a few shots, he spoke again, “Thanks.”

She simply nodded knowing that if they were anything alike, he would simply want silent company. He pulled out one of the packs of cigarettes she had brought and offered one to her. “How well did you know him?” He asked her, referring to his father.

“Well… But it was more that he was one of the two that knew  **everything** .” She explained before taking a drag. He nodded in understanding.

“Who’s the other?” He asked unsure if he was allowed to know.

“Kakashi.” She answered before taking a drag. Studying his face, she could see him turn from surprised to likely thinking ‘of course it’s him’.

“Is he supposed to?” He asked curiously.

“Nope.” She put simply. He nodded while taking a drag. They stayed silent for a moment, so she took a swig of the sake and passed it to Asuma, which he drank as well.

“Thanks lil sis.” He told her.

“I told you not to call me that!” She said with the cigarette still in her mouth as she snatched the sake bottle away from him. He chuckled and she could tell it was the first chuckle he had since that day. They both drank and finished their smokes in silence. She stuck around for a while longer, but when the sun began to set she got up off of the couch. “I should go. Kakashi might start to worry I went of and did something stupid.”

“Sounds like something you’d do.” He commented and chuckled again, the alcohol clearly influencing him a bit. She narrowed her eyes at him while gathering the trash from the food and adding in a few beer cans before tying the bag shut.

“I’ll see you later.” She waved as she walked to the door.

“Kessho…” She turned to face him. “Thanks…” She smiled and headed out.

She stumbled to the dumpster around the corner and threw the bag in. After a bit of wandering and getting lost in her stupor, she managed to find Kurenai’s balcony, to which she jumped up in. She knocked on the sliding glass door, and Kurenai showed up shocked to see her.

“Kessho what are you..?” Kurenai uttered.

“You need to go see him. Go bring some food to cook over there, he could use it.” She instructed. She smiled and nodded.

“You ok? You’re slurring a bit…” Kurenai hesitated not quite knowing how to handle her.

“I’m fine, I’m headed home now. I just wanted to make sure Asuma’s taken care of.” She reassured before leaving, not waiting for a response. Luckily she knew the way back to Kakashi’s by heart now and managed to get there just fine aside from almost tripping a few times. When she got up to the door, she struggled to get the key into the hole, but Kakashi opened the door for her before she could figure it out. “Oh good, thank you, that was getting hard.”

“Alright, let’s go.” He commented, grabbing her arm and helping her onto the couch. He disappeared into the kitchen while she focused on getting the room to stop spinning. When he came back, he brought her some food in a bowl and some water. “Eat please.” He instructed.

She grabbed the chopsticks and started stuffing her face. Without realizing how hungry she was, she finished the bowl rather quickly, and began chugging down the water. “Thanks… I needed that.”

“How is he?” Kakashi asked while she pulled his mask down.

“About as good as could be expected. I got him to laugh a little.” She smiled. “I want to see you laugh, you look so handsome when you laugh… And your face is so nice…”

“You’re very drunk.” He teased.

“Yeah but your face is still pretty…” She told him.

“Ok I think it’s time to put you to bed.” He instructed while getting a little visibly flustered.

“Awww you’re no fun. What’s wrong? Getting embarrassed?” She asked him while leaning up to kiss his cheek. He helped her get undressed and into her favorite shirt before getting into bed with her.

“The funeral’s tomorrow, you should sleep.” He told her with a solemn voice. She nodded and shortly after drifted to sleep.


	35. Sad Boi Hours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kessho is really emotionally stunted and Kakashi is in a coma. See how that works.

When she woke up she took some meds for the hangover to come and summoned a black kimono and a black obi. After putting her hair in a tight bun, she put on her socks and walked to the living room to see Kakashi was nowhere to be found. After she put on her shoes, she made her way to the roof of the Hokage’s building. Once she got up to the roof, she saw Asuma and Kurenai standing by each other. Not wanting to disturb them, she quietly stood behind them. As the proceedings went on, she started to shed tears while settling into numbness. The rain started coming down and she couldn’t tell anymore whether the wetness on her face was from her tears or the rain itself. When she lined up to leave a white flower, she felt a hand grab hers from behind. Just by the warmth it brought, she didn’t need to look, she knew it was Kakashi finally joining her. After squeezing his hand, she let go to place the flower and return to her place with Kakashi joining her at her side.

The rain stopped and began to clear up. After the procession, she went to find Asuma. There were many people surrounding him wanting to pay their respects. She waited patiently and could tell that he was getting overwhelmed by all the people around him. Without giving much thought, she walked through the crowd of people, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him out of there saying, “Sorry, sorry, there’s urgent matters needed to be tended to.”

Without thinking she dragged him to the Hokage’s office. They both sat on the desk facing out to the windows. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and offered one to her, but she declined this time. “Thanks for that.”

“I could tell you needed it… But you are going to have to go back out there eventually.” She warned.

“You sure I can’t hide here forever?” He asked, turning to her.

“I thought you weren’t stealthy, you sure you can handle hiding forever?” She joked and he let out a chuckle. They stayed in silence while he finished his cigarette. When he finished, he got up and walked towards the door.

“You coming?” He asked waiting by the door.

“No, there’s something I have to do.” She mentioned quietly. He nodded and closed the door behind him. She walked over to the door and locked it before walking back to the desk. Pulling open the second drawer, she opened it, pulled out some paper and ink with a pen, and began to write her report at the desk. After about an hour, she finished the report that was about five pages long. She tried her best to keep it as concise as possible while still writing it in the code. Crawling underneath the desk, she reached to the back and pressed on a false panel and added the stack of papers to the large stack of reports that were already there. Carefully she replaced the panel, making sure that it matched seamlessly. Someone flickered into the room.

“I know you’re in here Kessho.” She heard Kakashi’s voice as she crawled out from underneath the table. “You’re not drunk, are you?” He asked, eyeing her with caution.

“No… I was turning in my report.” She informed him while he nodded in response.

“Are you ready to go?” She nodded and they both went back to Kakashi’s apartment.

After she finished eating the dinner he made them, she spoke up, “I think I’m going to stay at my place for a few days… I’d like to be alone.”

“Are you sure…?” He asked with concern. She nodded as she got up. He walked her to the door and kissed her goodbye. “I’ll be here when you need me.”

When she got back to her place, she fell into bed and slept, not having realized how emotionally draining the day had been for her.

* * *

She spent the next few days with notebooks and papers sprawled across her living room floor containing the research she had written down from Orochimaru’s hideout. While looking at all the sprawled out papers, she was trying to piece together what exactly they were after as if looking at them all at once would somehow help her see the big picture. There were also some books from the library, one on forbidden jutsu, one on regeneration, and one on kekkei genkai.

 _That’s it!_ _This passage about a forbidden jutsu for theorized immortality… All of this research points to Orochimaru having solved it. If that’s true… Then… Could Sasuke be his next vessel…?_ She wondered. Her stomach grumbled and she didn’t feel like making food, but she also didn’t want to leave her research. She splayed herself on the floor as she decided what to do.

Getting up off of the floor, she walked to her room and grabbed a backpack returning to the mess of papers on the floor. After stuffing them all in the backpack, she took a quick shower and put on her shinobi uniform before heading into town.

Once she got there, she headed into a dumpling shop, ordered some food, tea, and sat down at a table to herself pulling out some of the research. She became completely consumed and blocked out the world around her, to the point where she didn’t notice Asuma standing before her until he slammed his hand onto her papers.

“KESSHO!” He shouted, she finally looked up at him snapping out of her daze. “Finally! Kessho, Kakashi’s in the hospital. He’s in a coma.” Her heart dropped as she stood up. Scrambling, she stuffed all of the notebooks and papers into her backpack and ran to the hospital.

Time felt to not matter in that moment. Everything passed by her in a blur. Running into a few people and not caring, she skidded around the corner trying to catch her footing to keep running to the hospital. She rushed in through the hospital entrance slamming herself into the receptionist desk. Quickly she asked where Kakashi’s room was as anxiety began to bubble up not being able to get any other words out. Once she heard the room number, she ran and was out of sight before the receptionist could yell at her. Rushing past everyone she made it to his room and slammed it open only to fall to her knees when she saw him lying there completely still. For her right then, time seemed to freeze.

It wasn’t until Asuma came in and placed his hand on her shoulder that she came back to reality. She stood up and walked over to him. “Tell me everything.”

“It was the Akatsuki. They’re a group of S-ranked rogue ninja that wear black cloaks with red clouds on them.” He began to explain.

“Itachi.” She said wide eyed.

“Yeah how did you-… He was placed under a Tsukuyomi.” Asuma continued.

“Tsukuyomi…?” She thought back to the horrors she watched Itachi do and felt her legs give out from under her. An anger began to bubble up inside her. “Since when?”

“Since yesterday. But Kessho, you can’t just go after them. He’s with one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. They’re not to be underestimated.” Asuma warned.

“I’ll be fine.” She told him while getting up and watching Kakashi’s lifeless body.

“There’s nothing I can say that’s going to change your mind, is there?” Asuma asked.

“Nope.” She stated with her fists clenched so hard her knuckles began to turn white.

“Is there anything I can do?” Asuma asked.

“I work alone.” She answered coldly, and with that she could hear his footsteps leaving the room. Letting her anger go for a moment, she lowered his mask and kissed his lips. After raising his mask she told him, “I’ll fix this…”

* * *

She headed back to her place and dropped the back pack on the living room floor. Reaching under the couch she removed the floor plank and changed into her Anbu uniform. Once she replaced the plank she walked over to Kiki who was resting in her doggy bed. “We have work to do. You still remember Itachi’s scent?” She asked Kiki, who tapped the floor with both front paws in response. “Good. We’re off to find him.” Kiki and her headed into the forest with Kiki leading the way. It took about 12 hours worth of travel to find them. Kiki stopped and pointed. “How many clicks ahead?” She asked in hushed tones.

Kiki tapped twice with one paw. _2 clicks._ She nodded and dismissed Kiki and headed up herself. There were two bodies camped out. One seemed to be awake while the other slept. She summoned two shadow clones. Her and one of the shadow clones headed to a clearing one click away from them and hid in the trees. The other clone by the two bodies teleported a kunai and attached a note to it.

_Itachi,_

_Meet me in the clearing 1 click behind SWS. Come alone. I’ll be waiting to see if you’re friend or foe this time._

_Owl_

The clone threw the kunai to land next to the body that was awake and merged with her. After a few moments she sensed someone enter the clearing. Opening her mind, she detected they were alone and the clone dropped down, but it wasn’t actually Itachi… He had sent a clone as well.

“Being cautious?” She asked.

“No more than you are.” Itachi responded. “What do you want?”

“I have information to trade.” She declared.

“How do I know your information is good?” Itachi questioned.

“Because you’ve caught me at a desperate moment.” She admitted. He narrowed his eyes.

“If it’s concerning my brother, I’m the one who did that to him…” Itachi commented.

“I don’t know anything about what happened to your brother or what you did or didn’t do to him. But even if you did hurt him, I know you still care for him, and you’ll want to know what I have to tell you.” She bargained.

“What do you want to know?” He interrogated.

“I want to know how you get someone to wake up after a Tsukuyomi.” She demanded. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“Why…?” He asked cautiously.

“Does it matter?” She snapped. His eyes went back to normal as he understood, she then realized she showed too much emotion.

“It seems we both have at least one person we care about and are willing to risk things for.” Itachi closed his eyes and looked down contemplating how to proceed. “Unfortunately I don’t know exactly. The things I do know are that someone with a strong enough sharingan can break out of a Tsukuyomi when it’s activated… And I can theorize… That love can fix this… Tsukuyomi breaks the spirit, love mends it.”

She could feel the anger bubbling up within her. _Fuck! Kakashi never believes he’s worthy of love, how can someone like that have love save them…?_

“I know that’s not the answer you were looking for, and I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.” He told her with sincerity in his voice. Despite what ended up resulting, she decided to tell him the information anyways.

“Orochimaru wants to use Sasuke as his next vessel. He seems to have mastered the forbidden immortality jutsu called `living corpse reincarnation’.”

“I see…” He closed his eyes again in contemplation. “I wish I could’ve been more helpful. Especially with the favor I’m about to ask you.”

 _The audacity! He wants to ask me a favor after what he did?!!? What the hell is wrong with him?!_ She wondered.

“Watch over Sasuke for me.” He stated simply.

“There has to be something more you can give me…” She felt her emotions getting the best of her as she pleaded.

“I’m sorry. I hope he pulls through.” Itachi said before turning to leave, she felt her shadow clone’s legs give out, but before they could reach the floor the shadow clone merged with herself. She stayed on the branch crying quietly, holding herself until sunrise came.

* * *

After rushing back, she showered, grabbed her research along with the notebooks she got from Itachi and her own sharingan notes and made her way to the hospital. She splayed out everything on the floor between his bed and the window hoping that if she saw all the pieces at once, she could figure out things on her own.

 _It has to be here… The answer to it all…_ She thought to herself before diving into finding out different ways to pull him out of the coma.

Without realizing it hours had passed and she knew she wasn’t getting anywhere. She organized the research into a few stacks and set it aside. Grabbing the empty backpack, she headed out to the library. While walking out of the library, she saw Guy headed up into the hospital.

“Well if it isn’t my taijutsu rival Kessho, only second to my greatest rival Kakashi. I know you’re not up for fighting right now, but once Kakashi pulls through we’re on for a match!” He beamed. She half smiled at the thought of everything turning out alright, but nobody knew if he would ever wake up. All she could muster for him was a nod before continuing on. When she got to the library she headed to the medical section and tried to pull out books on neuro, traumatic brain injuries, and psychosomatic ordeals. They were only allowing her three more books though given she already had a few checked out. After choosing carefully, she put them in her backpack and headed to the hospital. While on the way there, she found herself standing outside a liquor store.

She stood there for long enough that the shop owner came out to open the door for her, to which she finally decided to go in and get a bottle of some whiskey and stored it in her backpack before going back to the hospital. When she got back to Kakashi’s room, Guy had already left. Walking back to the corner where her research was, she splayed everything out again with the new books and began reading taking a swig of whiskey once in a while; she drinking enough to feel it, but not enough to hinder her ability to concentrate on the task at hand.

**THUD!**

The door closed behind Asuma waking her up with a jolt. He walked in and sat on the chair next to Kakashi further away from the window. When she straightened up the book that was resting on her chest fell to the floor with a noise.

“Kessho?” Asuma asked, not having realized she was there.

“Yeah…” She stretched her arms while he got off of the chair and walked towards her voice.

“You look like shit.” He commented.

“Thanks.” She mumbled. “What day is it?”

“How long have you been there?” He asked crouching down looking at one of the papers with research notes on them.

“I don’t know!” She exclaimed, snatching the paper away from him.

“What happened with Itachi?” He questioned.

“It was a dead end…” She grumbled.

“Come on, get up.” He held out a hand for her which she accepted with the bottle of whiskey in her other hand. They walked up to the roof of the hospital where he took out a cigarette to smoke and offered one to her which this time she accepted. After lighting them both, he looked at her and asked, “What are you doing…?”

“Researching… I’m trying to find something to help him… I can’t just sit around waiting for something to happen…” She was struggling to find the words to explain herself because these feelings were all so new to her.

“So you’re feeling helpless…” He contemplated while taking a drag. “So would anyone else.”

“I’ve never felt this way before though. I’m not used to feeling. Period. It wasn’t until I… retired, that I let myself feel things.” She explained before taking a drag.

“Surely you had been through things before, you couldn’t have felt nothing this entire time…” He spoke in disbelief.

“It was never _me_ though. It was always someone else that went through it.” She insisted.

“Oh that disassociation thing you do.” He realized while she took a swig. She offered the bottle to him, but he declined. “Well you’re just all sorts of fucked up aren’t you?” He asked, turning to her.

“Hey! I’m trying here!” She exclaimed while shoving him. Taking another a long drag she finally told him what she wanted to tell Asuma this whole time, “I can’t lose him…. He’s the only one left who knows me when I don’t even know me.” She took a quick swig.

There was a long silence before Asuma finally spoke “He’s not dead yet. I’m confident he’ll pull through.”

“I wish I was as confident as you…” She told him before taking her last drag. “But I’m not so I’m going to keep researching.” She went back downstairs and he followed, heading back to Kakashi’s room where she continued to research ways to try to wake Kakashi up.

* * *

“Ma’am… MA’AM!” She looked up to a nurse yelling at her. “I’m sorry but you’re going to have to leave.”

“Wha… Why? Wha-“ she hiccuped “Did I do?” She slurred.

“Ma’am you’re intoxicated, I need you to leave. Please don’t make me get security.” The nurse threatened.

“PShhhh I can take ‘em.” She scoffed, gathering up her papers and books in case she needed to fight. The nurse huffed and left. When the nurse came back, they brought a couple of shinobi with them.

“Alright, alright time to leave.” The shinobi instructed. She got up and stumbled a few times before settling into a defensive stance.

“Come at me bro!” She shouted. The shinobi quickly flickered behind her and grabbed her arms, putting them behind her back while the other shinobi grabbed her backpack. “You’re.” She hiccuped, “Really fast.” She commented with a surprised voice. They escorted her outside and waited for her to wander off. Realizing she wasn’t going to be able to get back inside, she drunkenly tried to make her way to Kakashi’s. She landed on her face a few times before walking past a bar that Anko was about to walk into.

“Kessho!” Anko ran up to her. “Hey are you ok, you don’t look too good…”

“Yeah well, that’s because those really fast shinobi kicked me out of the hospital.” She slurred.

“Alright let’s get you home.” Anko told her, grabbing her arm and putting it around her.

“No! To Kakashi’s…”

“Alright Kessho, to Kakashi’s.” Anko agreed.

“I miss him…” She spoke quietly, beginning to sob.

“I know sweetie, I know.” Anko tried her best to console her as they walked up the steps to Kakashi’s apartment.

Reaching into her bra, she pulled out her key to Kakashi’s apartment. She tried her best to open the door but between the hiccups and tears streaming down her face the key just wouldn’t go into the hole. Anko grabbed the key and unlocked it. After stumbling her way to his bedroom, she undressed and pulled out one of his sweatshirts to wear.

“It still smells like him!” She announced to Anko before plopping herself down on the bed. Anko brought in some water before leaving. After drinking the water, she tried to fall asleep, but everything reminded her too much of him.

* * *

At some point during the night she must have drifted off. When she woke up she went into the bathroom to take a cold shower, after getting dressed she grabbed her backpack, her key, and locked the door behind her. When she got to the hospital, she snuck in through the window into Kakashi’s room. After splaying out her papers and books, she reached under the bed looking for the whiskey bottle she had stored away. It was almost empty… She hadn’t eaten much that week with the exception of snacks from the vending machines and a few food pills, her diet at that point was mostly consisting of whiskey. After chugging what little was left and throwing the bottle in the trash, she went back into her research.

After a few hours she heard the door open and close, she hoped it wasn’t a nurse, but she didn’t bother taking her eyes off of her book. In her periphery she could see pink hair peeking out.

“Oh Kessho sensei, I almost didn’t see you there.” Sakura commented. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to find a way to wake him up, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to be able to concentrate.” She told her sternly.

“Yes, I’m so sorry!” she bowed before proceeding to watch over Kakashi for a few moments before leaving.


	36. Waking up after a long nap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:   
> After another few hours she could hear Naruto running down the hall and yelling. “This way for Kakashi-sensei!” She heard the door to his room open and in walked Naruto as well as a blonde woman and a woman carrying a pig. “Oh sneaky-sensei, I didn’t know you’d be here. This is grandma Tsunade and she’s going to become the 5th Hokage and help Kakashi-sensei wake up!”
> 
> “R-really?!” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Wait, the medical legendary sanin? Of course you’d be able to…” She trailed off.
> 
> “You’re studying neurology and regeneration… Were you trying to figure out how to wake him up?” Lady Tsunade asked. She nodded. “I’m impressed, it seems like you’ve gone through a lot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grammar still bad.
> 
> So I'm sorry in advanced for some of this. I'm a scientist and I'm not anal about things when it comes to writing with the exception of scientific accuracy. There's some jargon in there that might be hard to follow, but it's accurate and I also wanted to kind of show how studious Kessho actually is despite being mostly a trained spy. Also she doesn't own a TV. Her free time is pretty much spent reading smut or researching. Also she didn't use to read smut before Kakashi, mostly because she just spent her time researching before that and never thought to read fiction.

After another few hours she could hear Naruto running down the hall and yelling. “This way for Kakashi-sensei!” She heard the door to his room open and in walked Naruto as well as a blonde woman and a woman carrying a pig. “Oh sneaky-sensei, I didn’t know you’d be here. This is grandma Tsunade and she’s going to become the 5 th Hokage and help Kakashi-sensei wake up!”

“R-really?!” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Wait, the medical legendary sanin? Of course you’d be able to…” She trailed off.  


“You’re studying neurology and regeneration… Were you trying to figure out how to wake him up?” Lady Tsunade asked. She nodded. “I’m impressed, it seems like you’ve gone through a lot.”

“Thanks, I wasn’t really well versed in neuro… Guess I am now.” She mentioned while fidgeting with her hair. “Please help him… And I do need to speak with you privately at some point.”

Lady Tsunade nodded as she began to heal him. After a moment he began to wake up and she tried her best to contain her emotions in front of everyone, but a single tear escaped. As soon as he woke up Lady Tsunade started reprimanding him about how he could’ve done better.

“I’m sorry to have disappointed you.” Kakashi uttered before they walked out talking about going to heal Rock Lee. Once they left the room, she rushed to hug him with tears streaming down her face, no longer being able to hold back. She sat down at the edge of his bed, trying her best to calm herself. “Kessho… It’s ok now.” He told her while grabbing her hand.

“I know I just… I thought I lost you…” She cried. Kakashi looked down at the floor.

“What is all of that?” He asked.

“I was trying to research how to get you out of it since Itachi was of no help.” She admitted.

“You went after him?!” He shouted.

“Well I bargained for information, but he didn’t actually know anything. He’s probably never needed to pull someone out of it before.” She explained, somewhat mumbling.

“Kessho, he’s an S-ranked wanted criminal, why didn’t you just take care of them?” Kakashi questioned with an exasperated tone.

“Because then I wouldn’t be able to interrogate them!” She yelled. “Besides… I don’t think Lord Third would’ve wanted me to.”

“Kessho, he’s a part of a group that’s after Naruto’s 9 tails… I don’t know why you think there’s something good in him, but there isn’t. He murdered his entire clan with the exception of his brother, what are you even thinking?” Kakashi interrogated.

“The only thing I was thinking about was saving you!” she was the one growing exasperated now as she screamed. “You’re the only one now! The only one I have that knows me, you’re the only human who loves me…” She quieted as she went on.

“Kessho I-“ He sighed and pulled her in for an embrace. “You never even left, did you?”

“Only when the nurse kicked me out.” She grumbled.

“Why would they kick you out?” He chuckled.

“I was in a dark place… And that bottle in the trash is mine…” She mentioned.

“No more dark places.” He pulled away to look at her and press his forehead against hers.

“OK.” She smiled while the nurse walked in.

“You! You’re not supposed to be in here!” The nurse shouted pointing at her. She quickly got off the bed and jumped down to her corner.

“I come in peace.” She spoke holding up her arms. “I just want to make sure he’s ok and gets home ok.” She quietly told the nurse.

“Please excuse any behavior of her’s while I was out. She’s actually my emergency contact.” Kakashi tried to explain. She didn’t need to see his face to know he was smiling, trying to charm his way through it.

“Well alright… I’ll go get the discharge papers and she can take you home. I’ll have the doctor explain everything to you before you leave.” When she heard the nurse leave the room she popped her head back up over the bed.

“What exactly did you do?” He asked.

“Nothing much… Just mostly make a mess and claim that I could take on two shinobi when I could barely walk. Hehehe.” She chuckled nervously while he rolled his eyes. She began picking up her research and putting it away in her backpack.

When they finally finished with the discharge papers, they started to walk back to his place with Kakashi leaning on her. While walking past a restaurant, Lady Tsunade called out to them both.

“You! What’s your name?” Lady Fifth demanded.

“Nakano Kessho my Lady.” She bowed.

“You were studying regeneration, right? What exactly do you know about cellular regeneration?”

“I know that the success and prevention of scarring has mostly to do with attempting to decrease the inflammation. A decrease in macrophages that promote inflammation would be ideal, but that’s hard to control because the macrophages that are anti-inflammatory, are also needed. I have quite a bit of research that I can share.” She explained. Lady Tsunade instructed for them to follow her inside. They sat down at a table where Shizune was.

She took out her research notes about regeneration and placed them on the table. Her eyes widened at the notes. “How do you have Kabuto’s research here mixed in with your own?”

“This is something that I can explain once we have our private meeting.” She remarked.

“Well, I’m assuming Kakashi probably knows, so what are you waiting for?” Lady Tsunade commented.

Looking at Shizune, she insisted, “I’m sorry Lady Hokage, but it has to be us two alone.”

Lady Tsunade narrowed her eyes at her. “Alright, first thing tomorrow morning, it’ll just be you and me, no Shizune, no Kakashi. I’m keeping these notes as collateral in the meantime.”

“Not so fast. I take my research seriously… I want to ask for something else as well.” She told her cautiously.

“Well? Out with it!” Lady Tsunade grew impatient.

“I would like to train under you. I want to learn medical ninjutsu. I am knowledgeable in a book sense, but I’d like to be able to apply everything I’ve learned… And I want to know how you healed Kakashi.”

“How’s your chakra control?” Lady Fifth asked.

“You’ll find out tomorrow just how excellent it is.” She bragged a little.

“Alright then, I’ll train you. But it won’t be easy by any means. Now go take Kakashi home, even if he just slept for a week, he looks like he might pass out again.” Lady Tsunade joked. She nodded and left with Kakashi.

When they got back to his apartment, she started to make tuna nigiri along with some eggplant miso soup for him to eat. Every once in a while she would steal glances of him reading on the couch, still somewhat in disbelief that he was back. She brought their bowls with a plate of the nigiri to the couch and joined him as they ate, curling up next to him.

“I didn’t realize how hungry I was…” Kakashi told her after having finished his portion while she was only halfway through hers.

“Do you want more? There’s more.” She asked.

“Yes please.” He held up his bowl which she took to get him a second serving. After coming back with his second serving, they ate quietly. She cleaned up the dishes and curled up to him on the couch.

“We should probably get you into the shower. You’ve had nothing but sponge baths since you’ve been out.” She suggested and he nodded in agreement. After helping him into the shower, he sat on a stool and took over. Once the shower was done, she moved him into bed where they both read until falling asleep.

When she awoke, she found herself laying on her side with Kakashi’s arm wrapped around her waist. She nestled into him further, but it seems that woke him up as she felt soft kisses being placed on her neck.

“How are you feeling?” She asked him.

“Mmmm… Good, but I know something that can make me feel better…” He told her while she suddenly felt his hardness sliding between her thighs as their naked bodies lie.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” She questioned.

“The doctor said to do whatever makes me feel better.” He shrugged between kisses.

“I don’t think that’s what the doctor meant…” She doubted.

“Are you going to argue with the doctor?” Sarcasm was laced in his voice.

Turning around to face him, she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him in for a deep longing kiss. She hadn’t realized just how much she missed feeling his lips pressed against hers. Moving to feel him, she wrapped one leg around his hip to pull him in while licking his bottom lip so she could start tasting him with her tongue. His hand roamed starting from her shoulder down her curves to plant his hand on her behind, squeeze, and pull her to him as he thrust his own hips forward.

She could feel his girth peeking at her entrance, but she simply kept focusing on trying to taste every last bit of him that she wasn’t sure if she would have been able to do again. Her hand moved up from his neck and intertwined into his hair as she slowly moved herself down, inserting him into herself. Breaking the kiss, he quickly moved her so she was now on top. She started to move herself up to thrust back down, but his arms went under her thighs and began to move her towards his face.

With her kneeling above him, he began to flick her clit with his tongue while she quickly grabbed onto the headboard of the bed. He tries to move his hand to insert fingers so she widens her stance some. When he places to finger into her, she grips the headboard tightly and moans out in pleasure. She releases one hand from the headboard and uses it to move his hair back revealing his scarred eye that was currently closed. He switched to sucking her, and when a moan escaped, she saw him open his sharingan eye. As his pace quickened, she held on with both hands onto the headboard and looked down at him. His eyes showed smugness, but in that moment she couldn’t care… All she wanted was to continue to feel that build up within her. She felt herself getting lost in the moment and started grinding into him as she was getting close. Her knuckles were turning white as she was squeezing the headboard reaching her climax.

“Kakashi!!” She moaned once she felt that sweet release and he licked her clean. Slowly she moved back to straddle him and insert him into herself. She pressed her forehead against his while holding his face and slowly began moving up and coming down with a hard thrust. With each thrust she could watch his eyes glaze over slightly while his mouth lay open feeling each other’s hot breath against their lips.

After a few more thrusts he turned her over so he was now on top and his lips came crashing into hers as he slowly began thrusting into her. The kiss grew desperate for pleasure as they could feel bare chest against bare chest. Her hands now free to roam, she placed one into his hair for her to tug as the moans escaped while the other drifted down to his behind to try and help push himself further into her. Breaking the kiss, he moved his face pressing his cheek against hers to whisper, “Want me to go deeper?”

She nodded quickly feeling, no, needing to feel more of him. They parted and he allowed her to show him what she wanted. She initially got on all fours, but then folded her arms on the bed and rested her head on them while her rump stuck up and out waiting. Kakashi kneeled behind her, rubbed her cheeks, lined himself up, and slowly inserted his girth into her sliding down reaching deeper than before. After that initial slow entry, he grabbed her hips and began thrusting and pulling her at a rapid pace. She snaked one of her hands to her still sensitive clit and began rubbing herself. The heat built up quickly between the two of them as the sound of skin slapping together filled the room. She could feel herself getting close again, so she began squeezing her walls around him to which he started letting out groans and grunts. As he grew closer he began to slap her in desperation and frustration of not reaching what was about to come. When they both peaked, they froze in place holding their breaths for a moment while they enjoyed the pleasure. They slowly rode out the wave before she slid back down to laying on her stomach and he went to lay next to her.

She reached out and placed a hand on his cheek. “You going to be ok while I go help out Tsunade?” She asked him before leaning in for a sweet kiss.

“Yeah… I think I might go back to sleep actually.” He answered groggily, but she made a face.

“You better be awake when I get back!” She warned.

“We’ll see.” He said, yawning. She felt her stomach turn into knots, but when he noticed he just chuckled and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be awake.” He smiled. She nodded and got out of bed getting dressed in her shinobi uniform. After grabbing her notes, she headed out to the Hokage's office.

* * *

“If only I could activate all the cells at once…” Lady Tsunade thought aloud.

“I mean you could…” She started to say cautiously. The Hokage looked at her to continue, “The best way to activate the wound healing process of the cells all at once would be to get the immune system to activate it. The problem at that point would be you would run the risk of inflammation again, but it might be something we could diminish with white willow bark, ginger, and some cloves…” She finished explaining and Tsunade nodded taking it in.

“Alright I need a break from this… Now explain to me how you came across all of this.” Lady Tsunade demanded. She got up and went to lock the door. After which, she crawled behind and under the desk to open the false panel and pull out the files. Once she replaced the panel, she grabbed the stack of papers and walked over to the area they were sitting at placing them on the table in front of the Hokage.

“What I am about to tell you is something that only the Hokage has ever known. I was put into a pilot program to become ‘the ninja that does not exist.’ I’m a special type of Anbu that only reports to the Hokage.” She started rummaging through the pile before picking out some papers. “Here are the legitimate yearly profiles done on me by Lord Third and Fourth themselves. These should depict my skills and how my performance has improved over the years.” She allowed the Hokage to look over the papers.

“So you’re originally a Yamanaka…. “ Lady Tsunade contemplated, she nodded in acknowledgement. “But they don’t know who you are, or that you’re alive.”

“Correct.”

“Nobody you knew back then knows you’re alive…”

“Correct.”

“I see…” Lady Tsunade continued to analyze the papers. “Why were you created?”

“You wanted to know how I got Kabuto’s research…?” She asked cautiously. The Hokage nodded. Pulling out the report for the infiltration mission, she handed it to Lady Tsunade and waited for her to read it. She began scribbling on a paper and handed it to her as well. “This is the code we developed. Once you learn it, burn the paper.” She waited in silence as Tsunade began to translate and quickly read the report synopsis.

“You were able to go undetected for weeks in his hideout?! But how?!” Lady Tsunade exclaimed.

“I’ve taught myself how to diffuse my chakra. When we sense chakra, it’s because we sense a large pool of it spreading throughout the body as if it were our blood and our heart. I actually got the idea for diffusing chakra from bugs. What if you could take chakra and keep it dispersed at the cellular level, and keep it moving from cell to cell instead of chakra point to chakra point. You’d be able to maintain and use chakra, without being detected. Do that with some Anbu cloaking techniques, crawling on ceilings, and you can hide from anyone.” She explained. The Hokage sat back on the sofa and pointed at her.

“You’re good…” Lady Tsunade chuckled before sipping her tea. “I assume these are all the mission reports you’ve done?”

“Yup. Every last one.” She grabbed her backpack and handed her two bingo books. “Those are my S-ranked and A-ranked bingo books. My personal ones anyways. There’s some there that aren’t or never were in the typical shinobi or Anbu bingo books.” Lady Tsunade nodded.

“So then how are you out in the open?”

“The Lord Third claimed that he wanted more jonin here in the village. It’s under the premise that I’m retired Anbu and now just a regular jonin shinobi. He had me team up with Asuma telling me to help him with Ino without letting them know anything about me. Occasionally he would send me off on a mission, but the frequency was far less. I don’t know if it was because we were at times of peace or if he was simply trying to get me into a more normalized life.”

“What do you want…?”

“I will admit… I feel myself growing roots here… Which is odd because it’s not something I’ve ever done before-“

“With Kakashi of all people, huh?” Lady Tsunade commented. She could feel her cheeks growing red.

“I-I hope that’s not going to be a problem my Lady.” She stuttered while looking down.

“Oh not at all! On the contrary I think he’s a fine shinobi. With you he might have finally met his match and the right kunoichi to put him in his place.” Lady Tsunade commented while crossing her legs seeming to get into a ‘girl talk’ mode of sorts. She started to feel a little uncomfortable and began trying to reposition herself in her seat. 

“Oh good I’m glad.” She smiled.

“He knows everything, doesn’t he?” The Hokage smirked and she nodded as if she had been scolded. “Well he’s probably one of the few people in this town reserved enough to never say anything. But you wouldn’t have known that at the time… So why did you tell him?” Lady Tsunade asked before sipping her tea.

“I have the ability to erase memories. I didn’t think I would need to use it… But I knew I could if I needed to.” She explained.

“I’m assuming that’s derived from your talent as a Yamanaka?” The Hokage asked and she nodded. “So there was a butt coming before I interrupted you wasn’t there?”

“Yes… I feel myself growing roots… But I’m not ready to give up who I was yet either. I’m still the ninja that does not exist and I am at your service Lady Fifth.” She bowed her head.

“Alright then, is there anything else you need to tell me?”

“I just need to show you where these documents go.” She told her grabbing all the papers and heading over to the desk. She placed the stack on the ground under the table and removed the false panel.

“Lady Tsunade!” Shizune shouted. Shizune tried opening the door but it was locked. She flickered to the door immediately.

“I’m busy in a private meeting Shizune!” Lady Tsunade yelled.

“But I don’t have anything scheduled.” Shizune mentioned while picking the lock. She allowed the door to open a bit before stopping it.

“You need to leave.” She instructed sternly.

“I’m sorry but I have important matters to discuss with Lady Tsunade.” Shizune told her while trying to squeeze through the door. She placed a hand on the frame of the door preventing Shizune from getting through.

“You need to leave.” She threatened. “Now.” Shizune stared for a moment in shock.

“Come back later Shizune.” Lady Tsunade insisted and Shizune began to retreat. She closed the door and locked it. After a moment, ensuring that Shizune was gone, she showed Lady Tsunade where to put away the papers in the hidden compartment in the desk and she went to unlock the door. Afterwards they both sat back down and continued to discuss options for Rock Lee.

After a few hours she got up. “I’m sorry Lady Tsunade, but I left Kakashi alone and I really should go check on him.” She bowed.

“That’s quite alright. Come by tomorrow. After the inauguration ceremony.” Lady Tsunade commanded. “And we’ll have to have some girl talk some time… And that’s an order.”

On hearing that she rushed out of there and headed to Ichiraku ramen. “I’ll take two orders of our usual to go please.” She smiled. After a few moments she was handed a bag, she paid, and left for the apartment. When she got there Kakashi was doing one armed push ups. “Well you’re certainly awake.” She commented.

“Is that food? Oh you’re the best” He told her having gotten up and kissed her cheek, but she pushed him away.

“Stop you’re all sweaty.” He grabbed her into a hug and started kissing her cheek repeatedly while she half heartedly tried to push him off. “Stooooop” She whined.

“Thank you for the food.” He smiled, finally letting her go and sitting down at the table to eat. She sat down to join him where they both enjoyed a quiet night in.

* * *

The next morning they both headed out to the inauguration ceremony where they were joined by Sasuke to watch. He leaned over to her and whispered “I think today I’m going to use that disguise. So feel free to bump into me at some point…” He flirted and she giggled.

The ceremony ended and she went up to meet with Lady Tsunade. At this point Lady Tsunade had figured out how to improve the odds and ran the idea by her. She agreed that it was the best course of action, so Tsunade began to discuss the surgical plan.

“Lady Tsunade, this all sounds amazing, but why are you telling me?” She asked.

“Because I want you to assist me. You helped me come up with a solution, it’s only right you get to assist.”

“But I’m not ready, I don’t know anything about medical ninjutsu!” She exclaimed worried.

“I’m certain you’ll pick it up quickly… So you should go get something to eat because you’re going to be spending a lot of time prepping with me.” Lady Tsunade told her while motioning to dismiss her. She walked out to go into town, but she felt a little uneasy. She wasn’t too sure that there was much she would be able to help with…  _ I do know the concepts… and I do have great chakra control… Maybe I will be able to pick it up quickly…?  _ She pondered until she was interrupted by some screaming.

“Sneaky-sensei!” Naruto yelled as the three young genin and Kakashi in disguise approached.

**Click.** Kakashi in disguise took a photo of her. Or Sukea was it?

“What trouble are you three getting into…?” She asked lazily. “And who is this…?” She walked over to him and played with his long scarf.

“That’s Sukea, he’s a photojournalist and he’s going to help us see Kakashi-sensei’s face!” Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

“Sukea, huh?” She bit her lip and made eyes at him while he smiled her favorite closed eyed smile.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her but she didn’t notice. “I bet she’s seen his face.” He commented with bitterness in his tone.

“What no way!” Naruto said in disbelief.

“Well have you Kessho-sensei?” Sakura begged.

“I have… We were swimming in a spring, but he didn’t notice me at first. He hid his face in the water most of the time, but not before I could see it…” She smirked at Sukea.

“Oh you gotta tell us what he looks like!” Sakura begged

“Does he have buck teeth? Blimp lips?” Naruto kept asking.

“Sorry guys but I’m not telling.” She teased while making eyes at Sukea.

“Is there anything you can tell us?” Sukea asked while not giving into her flirting.

“I can tell you how to reach me…” She told him seductively as she wrote down her address on a piece of paper and put it in his pocket. “Sorry guys, I have to go get something to eat.” She started to walk off but looked back over her shoulder. “Bye Sukea!” She winked and blew a kiss.

**Click** .

* * *

After getting food she headed back to the Hokage’s office where she practiced basic medical ninjutsu for the rest of the day and some into the night. Suddenly Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were ushered into the Hokage’s office. She was too focused on the task at hand to listen in much until she heard the word Anbu at which point she stopped what she was doing.

“Kessho!” She turned quickly to face Lady Tsunade who was now yelling at her. “Please escort these four out of my office and take your leave for the night! We will pick back up again tomorrow.” She nodded quickly and pushed them all out into the hall and out of the building.

“What exactly did you three do?!” She yelled.

“We snuck into the archives to try and find a report of Kakashi-sensei’s face, seriously how could you not hear her yelling?” Naruto told her nervously but with sarcastic undertones.

“Idiots… You’re all a bunch of idiots.” She muttered.

“Well it was Sukea’s idea!” Naruto exclaimed.

“Oh, was it now?” She tried to muster up a tone of disbelief. “Just go home and don’t get into any more trouble.” She begged.

Naruto and Sakura left while Sasuke lingered. There was something he wanted to say but was hesitating.

“Out with it.” Kakashi demanded.

“It’s none of my business but… Kessho was flirting with Sukea, I thought you should know…” Sasuke told him while looking down, kicking a rock on the floor.

“Was she now…? We’ll have to talk about that later.” He said in concerned tones while she narrowed her eyes at Sasuke feigning anger. “Go on home.” Once Sasuke was out of ear range he whispered into her ear, “Maybe tone down the flirting a little.” He suggested.

“I’m sorry I can’t help myself, Sukea’s just so attractive with all of that face I can see and all.” She teased.

“Oh so you like your men with visible faces, do you?” He asked as they started walking back to the apartment.

“I do, sorry… They’re easier to kiss.” She mocked. He grabbed her by wrapping both arms around her body and kissing her lips through his mask.

“I don’t know, it seems easy to me.” He told her while she tried to break free of his grasp but her arms were tucked in against his chest.

“Let go of me.” She said between the kisses he was planting on her. Finally letting go they both laughed and she motioned to hold his hand. “So seriously? Breaking into the archives like that? What the fuck were you thinking?” She questioned.

“Eh it’s no big deal.” He waved it off. 

“You really think you can get away with anything, don’t you?”

“You don’t?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Don’t you turn this around on me!” She scolded.

“Sorry mom.” He told her with sarcasm laced in his voice. She grumbled. “It’ll be fine, it’s like a… A ‘welcome to being Hokage’ prank.”

“Sure, you’re not the one going to have to listen to her complain about you tomorrow?”

“Oh…?”

“She told me she wants to have ‘girl talk’… I think she wants to ask me about you….”

“Maybe she just wants to hang out with someone who matches her chest size along with alcohol intake…” He joked while she narrowed her eyes at him.

“They’re not that big…” She commented looking down at her chest. “Are they…?” She asked while walking with him into the apartment and closing the door behind them.

“Let me check.” He said before shoving his face into her cleavage. She put her hands on her waist.

“Really?” She asked with his face still buried in her chest.

“I’m not done yet.” His voice muffled. A moment later he pulled his face up to meet her gaze. “Yup I think they’re a little smaller, but I still love them.” He joked while she laughed. She reached to pull down his mask but he jumped away. “Nope!”

“Come here!” She yelled reaching for his mask while he jumped onto the couch. They began chasing each other around, laughing the whole time. They were jumping on furniture, until she finally tackled him onto the bed. She pinned his arms down underneath her legs and he struggled against her trying to break free. She slowly slid down his mask while he shouted “nooooooo.”

“Oh my Sukea, what are you doing here?” She teased while letting her guard down, he flipped her over and pinned her while sliding his mask back up. “Aw come on, let me feel those soft lips for a kiss goodnight at least!” She groaned.

“Well when you put it that way…” He lowered his mask, cupped her cheek, and pressed his soft lips gently against hers. He let her go and stripped down to his pants while she stripped to her panties before getting into bed. She kissed his soft lips again.

“Goodnight.” She smiled.

“Night.” He told her, wrapping his arms around her as they both drifted off into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is kind of how I picture Kakashi being when he's genuinely happy and not in a dark place. It doesn't happen too often, but when it does... It's kind of magical.


	37. Sasuke leaves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> The next few days she spent training with the Fifth Hokage while Kakashi was out on a mission. She was learning pretty quickly now that she didn’t feel the need to go home early and watch after Kakashi. By this time she had gotten a hang of the basics and was learning techniques that would be used to Lee’s surgery. Lady Tsunade had been right about her skills with chakra control making for a much quicker training session than what would normally be needed for a surgery of this kind. The only time she allowed herself a break was for Shikamaru’s chunin promotion celebration.

The next day when she went back to the apartment for lunch she found Sukea coming in.

“Oh Sukea, I didn’t expect to see you so soon…” She flirted.

“Yea, sorry, I’m a little tired, things did not go the way I thought they were going to today.” He told her while heading to the bathroom.

“There’s food for you when you’re done!” She shouted before continuing to eat. When she finished eating she turned the broth onto low and washed her dishes. By the time she was done Kakashi showed up by her side.

“It looks delicious, thank you.” He said kissing her cheek.

“Hey, no discounts, you have to pay full price.” She told him, while he had a confused look on his face she leaned in to give him a deep kiss while she slid her hand up behind his neck. “Now that’s a nice tip you left me.” She teased.

He chuckled, “Oh I haven’t even given you my tip yet.” He growled into her ear.

“Now as much as I’d **love**... to collect, I have to go back to meet with Lady Tsunade” She told him while walking away backwards. She slipped on her shoes and turned to steal one last glance. “I love you” She smiled.

“I love you too.” He told her while sitting down at the table. After hearing those words, she ran off to go back to training with the Hokage.

* * *

The next few days she spent training with the Fifth Hokage while Kakashi was out on a mission. She was learning pretty quickly now that she didn’t feel the need to go home early and watch after Kakashi. By this time she had gotten a hang of the basics and was learning techniques that would be used to Lee’s surgery. Lady Tsunade had been right about her skills with chakra control making for a much quicker training session than what would normally be needed for a surgery of this kind. The only time she allowed herself a break was for Shikamaru’s chunin promotion celebration.

She sat in the booth between Asuma and Shikamaru with Choji and Ino on the other side. “Congrats Kid!” She slapped Shikamaru’s back in excitement. “You sure earned it!” Choji started digging in while Ino tried to stop him.

“We’re about to have a toast!” Ino complained. “Can’t you wait?!”

“Sorry!” Choji said quickly.

“There’s plenty to eat, so dig in!” Asuma exclaimed before taking a gulp of beer. She clinked her mug against Asuma’s and took a gulp herself. They all began to eat while Choji thoroughly began to chow down. Ino began complaining about how Choji needed to slow down his eating, while he made excuses saying that he was savoring his food. Asuma sighed but the fight between the two just got more heated. Just as she was about to step in, Shikamaru did instead, telling them both that they needed to calm down.

She was impressed at Shikamaru’s growth as it had been awhile since she was around team Asuma.

“Choji, you need to think less about food and focus more on training!” Asuma scolded. Ino grew a smug look on her face.

“Don’t you look so smug, your taijutsu still needs work! You should’ve been able to beat Sakura easily if you had practiced as much as I told you to!” She scolded as well. Asuma and her looked at each other nodding while the three genin went off to use the bathroom.

“So how’s Kakashi?” Asuma asked.

“He’s doing great. We’ve just been busy lately with assignments. Well… Him with assignments and me training under Lady Tsunade.”

“ **You** …? You’re learning medical ninjutsu?” He asked in disbelief.

“Yeah… I don’t want to feel helpless like that again… That was not a fun feeling.” She admitted before taking a gulp of beer.

“Ok… That makes more sense.” Asuma contemplated before drinking.

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!” She whined.

“Oh nothing, just the medic unit is about to get a bad ass ninja joining them is all.”

“Oh hell no. In no way shape or form does this mean I’m not going to be out in the field as a fighting shinobi. I’ll be a combat medic if I need to be, but I’m going to be out there fighting too.” She nodded to herself while Asuma chuckled. He rested his arm on her shoulder.

“Don’t ever change Kessho.” He told her before clinking glasses and finishing their beer.

“Alright, I have to go back and finish training.” She said getting up. She smiled at Asuma as he waved goodbye.

* * *

“The surgery will be tomorrow morning. We need to prepare you for the finishing touches.” Lady Tsunade informed her. Her mouth lied agape as she stood in shock. “Well don’t just stand there we have work to do!” the fifth Hokage shouted.

“Are you sure you think I’m ready?” She asked.

“Of course I do, I wouldn’t have scheduled you to assist me otherwise!” Lady fifth shouted at her. She nodded and proceeded back to training for the surgery.

After several hours of grueling training Lady Tsunade finally sent her home to rest. When she got home, all the lights were off and she started to undress as she headed to the bedroom. She stopped in the doorway of the bedroom when she saw there was a body lying there.

“I’ve been awake, you don’t have to get all quiet.” Kakashi stated.

“Everything ok?” She asked with concern. He sat up in bed groaning while she joined across from him.

“Sasuke and Naruto tried to kill each other today…” He sighed.

“What?! What do you mean?”

“They tried to use their deadliest jutsu against each other because they’re constantly trying to one up each other. Sasuke is afraid of Naruto catching up to him and his hatred for his brother is driving him to do rash things… He’s dead set on seeking revenge and his hunger for power to do so is…” He trailed off putting his head on his knees and his arms around his legs. “I tried talking to him but I’m not sure I got through to him… And I have a mission first thing in the morning…”

“I’m sure it’ll turn out alright…” She said crawling next to him sliding under the covers and putting her arm around him. There was nothing more she could say, so she simply tried to soothe him by holding him and rubbing his back until he was ready to lay down. It was her turn to be the big spoon, as she put her arm around his waist and kissed his neck, nestling into him before she fell asleep.

They woke up together at dawn and got dressed. They ate breakfast together in silence as she could tell Kakashi was still troubled and didn’t seem to get much sleep. After cleaning up she lowered his mask and kissed his lips.

“Be safe, ok?” She told him, he nodded and flickered off while she left making her way to the Hokage’s office. By the time she got there she was told to head over to the hospital to begin the prepwork.

_I wish she would’ve told me to just show up there last night. I could’ve slept in a few extra minutes_ she thought while yawning. After making it to the hospital, she began the prep work for Lee’s surgery. By the time she was done, Lady Tsunade joined her and checked her work.

“Alright everything looks good. Let’s get the patient and let us begin.” The Hokage ordered.

* * *

A few hours later, after the surgery was mostly finished Lady Tsunade stepped out having asked her to finish up with Lee and to have her to clean up. After about another hour, she asked the nurses to take Lee back to his room while she began to clean up everything. Cleaning up and sterilizing all the tools she just used took about another hour or two, but once she was done she felt accomplished walking out of the room. Lady Tsunade came up behind her, sighed, and put her arms around her. “You did excellent. As much as I would like to go out and celebrate this with you over some sake, I have a mission for you, so let's head to my office.”

_Her tone is serious… This doesn’t sound good._ She thought while following Lady Fifth back to her office. When they got there she locked the door behind her.

“I know you’re tired, please sit, you’ll need to rest as much as you can.” Lady Tsunade instructed, so she sat. “Sasuke Uchiha left last night and seems to be guarded by four of Orochimaru’s sound ninja as I was told by Shizune and Genma when they arrived.”

“Is Genma ok?” She interrupted.

“He’s fine. Now I’ve sent Shikamaru and he got a group of genin to go after them, but I want you to go as well. Go as your Anbu self. It will be your first mission from me. Rest up for a bit as you’ll need your chakra, but head out soon… You don’t want to lose them.” She nodded.

“Is that all?” She asked.

“I don’t know, you tell me! This is the first time I’m doing this. Do you need anything else?” Lady Tsunade began to ask.

“No… That’s usually all I need. I’ll figure the rest out on my own.” She stated.

“Really?” Lady Fifth questioned in disbelief before shaking her head to then nod with determination. “Well ok then.” Lady Fifth, seeming satisfied with herself crossed her arms and nodded again. She got up and walked back to her place to go get changed into her Anbu uniform. After eating a few food pills, she headed to Sasuke’s place. Once she got there she summoned Kiki. Kiki’s ears perked up and she placed two paws on her thigh reaching up to her. “It’s good to see you too Kiki.” She told her while crouching to pet her. “This is Sasuke’s apartment. We need to find him once you get his scent.” Kiki began sniffing around the entire apartment slowly. After a few moments she tapped with both her front feet on the ground indicating she had the scent and was ready to go. “Alright, let’s head out.”

They snuck out of the leaf village and made their way towards where the scent was coming from hiding in the higher branches of the trees. After about a day of travel, she could tell they were finally catching up to where Sasuke was. She came upon a clearing in a field, but the scent went past the clearing. Kiki had started to go around the clearing and she was following until she heard familiar yelling.

_Is that…? Lee?! No! My precious hard work… Why Lee why…? Well he seems to be doing ok. The surgery seems to have helped a lot… He’s been fighting well so far. My mission is Sasuke, not Lee. First I can get Sasuke, then help Lee, right?_ She found herself fighting internally. When she looked closely at the fight though, Lee’s movements seemed strange, but he was holding his own in the battle and seemed like he had everything under control. With that, she decided to keep on following Kiki.

After another while she instructed, “Kiki stop. Something isn’t sitting right. Give me a moment to rest.” With that she sat for a bit eating a couple food pills. The surgery had taken more out of her than she thought and having kept going without any rest... She decided to no longer use stealth while traveling, she needed to conserve her chakra and it seemed that nobody was around her at the moment. Everyone else that was in pursuit, they had already seen and passed. “Is it just Sasuke and Naruto up ahead?” she asked. Kiki tapped both paws on the branch they were resting on.

_Naruto might be one of the few people able to convince Sasuke to stay…_

A blinding light woke her up. _SHIT HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN OUT_ Kiki was standing guard awaiting for her. “Lets go!” She started rushing following Kiki jumping from branch to branch as quickly as she could. It soon started to pour and she used chakra on her feet to boost her speed. There was a waterfall that she was approaching and she made her way to it, there she saw Naruto lying and Kakashi jumped down behind her.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep, I’ll continue after Sasuke, you take care of Naruto!” She shouted before continuing off without saying anything else leaving Kakashi behind. She continued on into the forest and she could feel Kiki’s desperation as the scent was being wiped away. Jumping to the ground she saw faint pressings of what could’ve been footsteps in the mud. Following them closely and as quietly as she could. After a while the rain stopped and she kept following on the ground.

She jumped up into the trees and she finally saw Sasuke but she could tell they were rapidly approaching one of Orochimaru’s hideouts.

Jumping back down in front of him she tried her best to reason with him, “Sasuke, you can’t leave this way. This isn’t the right path.”

“Who even are you?!” He shouted, swinging at her. “Why does it matter?!” He swung at her again but she just jumped back.

“I know you think you’re alone, but you have people back at the village that care about you. Don’t do this.” She urged. He turned away from her with fists clenched.

“Everyone I care about is already dead.” He told her through clenched teeth. She was taken aback by the words… _How could two people who were so similar, end up down such different paths_ … Before she had time to respond, Sasuke threw a kunai at her chest and she knelt to the ground. He began to walk past her. “Don’t follow me.”

“I’m sorry but I have to, I’ve never failed a mission before.” She told him while getting back up.

“Well it looks like this will be your first.” That voice she knew only as Kabuto, who had pricked her with what she can only assume to be poison. “You’re going to want to get that taken care of if you want to live… That is, if I don’t kill you first…”

Without another thought she flickered away to a nearby tree, shrouded herself in invisibility and diffused her chakra. She could feel a heat spreading like needles through as she backed into the tree the needle bent and sliced open her skin before falling out. Quickly, she flickered to another tree before the needle fell to the ground, still watching as Kabuto tried to determine where she was.

_It’s no use… I can’t fight like this and Sasuke isn’t ready to come back willingly. There’s nothing I can do… I’m just stuck feeling helpless again…_

“Well I must say your abilities are impressive. It looks like you’ll get to live after all, but only if you make it back to the Leaf village in time.” Kabuto announced before walking Sasuke to the hideout.

She felt the kunai in her chest and realized that large breasts were good for something, it wasn’t lodged too deep. She pulled it out and tried her best to seal the wound, though the outside of her lung was scratched, and breathing would make her wince for a while. With the injury on her back, he struck muscle, which was good and bad. Good that it wasn’t her spine and she wouldn’t have to worry about losing feeling any time soon, but bad because it’ll disperse easily and she could feel it doing so already.

She twisted her back in attempts to get some of the blood muddied with poison out. After trying that, she tried reaching around and pulling out as much as she could with some medical water, but it was no use… There was too much and she just couldn’t reach around to pull it out. Taking some of her blood off of the branch, she summoned Kiki. When Kiki popped up, the dog began to whine and whimper. “Not time for that, find the fastest way back to the hidden leaf.” She commanded. They ran off again into the forest.

* * *

She climbed through Kakashi’s window and fell to the floor. There were feet rushing to the room. “Kessho! What happened?!” Kakashi shouted.

“Poison… Tsunade…” Was all she could muster. Suddenly she felt herself in warm arms and began to drift in and out.

There was a cloak wrapped around her and her mask was off and the stars in the night were shining about, but there was no moon.

There were bright lights and hospital smell along with yelling for Tsunade.

There was a bed beneath her, she was on her back. Kakashi was crouched holding her hand.

There were fluorescent lights and machines beeping. Finally she could sit up and Kakashi was in a chair next to her, his head tilted back as he slept. Lady Tsunade came into the room, it looked to be early morning still. “Good, I’m glad you’re awake. All of the poison has been removed.” The Hokage informed her before shaking Kakashi’s shoulder to wake him up.

“Wha- Keshho! You’re awake. How are you feeling?” He asked holding her hand.

“I’m fine… I just… I’m sorry I couldn’t…” She stuttered, feeling tears well up.

“Shhh… No it’s ok… You did what you could.” He reassured her.

“It’s not ok!” Lady Tsunade shouted. “What happened out there?”

“I don’t normally show myself, but I knew that I would need to in order to get Sasuke to come back. I was trying to reason with him… I didn’t expect him to throw a kunai at me. I was caught so off guard that I didn’t detect Kabuto when he snuck up behind me with the poisoned needle. The poison was travelling quickly and I knew I wouldn’t be able to fight…” She explained.

“Did you manage to get anything useful, or were you completely useless?” Lady Fifth hissed.

“I know the location of one of his what are now three hideouts. I suspect they won’t be going back to that one for a while though now that they know I know… I’m sorry I don’t have more for you.” She answered while facing down, tears of frustration leaving her eyes she slammed her fist on the bed. 

“Well that’s something I suppose… There’s some news concerning the two of you…” The Hokage’s tone sounded lighter. “Kessho… You’re pregnant. About a month and a half in. The baby is fine, you had removed enough of the poison to where it was unaffected. I guess this means you’ll be training with me mostly for now as we can’t have you going off on dangerous missions while carrying a child. Seriously have you guys not been using condoms?” Lady Tsunade went on but her thoughts drifted out elsewhere.

_Pregnant…? I can’t be pregnant… Me? But I’m a ninja… How am I supposed to be pregnant? We’re stretched thin as it is right now with shinobi… I can’t be placed on training duty just because of that. The village needs me._ She turned to look at Kakashi, his expression turning from dumbfounded to excited…? _Oh he’s talking now too… But I can’t focus or hear what he’s saying… Am I really pregnant?_

There was a sense of walls closing in on her and her chest felt tight, breathing quickened. _I gotta get out of here!_ She ripped out her IV, grabbed her cloak, and ran out of the hospital.

* * *

She found herself at the bar she frequents, occasionally having gone with Kakashi and the others. She ordered her usual sake. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be happy, she was just so overwhelmed by all these feelings, these changes she wasn’t used to. She was used to thinking solely of herself and the mission at hand. She loved Kakashi, and how he made her feel. She just wasn’t sure she could give up the only life she knew.

She looked down at the bar in front of her. She hadn’t realized the sake had been placed in front of her already. She took the sake and let it sit in her mouth, tasting all of it. _I can’t give up my Anbu duties if I’m going to have a child. A child._ She slowly let the sake back into the glass she was served in. Having forgotten about the fact that she was pregnant so easily, clearly, she wasn’t cut out to be a mother. Right? Those thoughts kept running through her head. _I never even had a mother… How on earth am I supposed to be one. I can’t… Right? But the look on Kakashi’s face… His sweet sweet dumb face… He was so happy… He wants this baby…_ She looked down at her stomach and held it. _He’s going to be so hurt that I ran off like that… What will he think? What will he think of me when he learns how I feel?_ Guilt. She felt guilty. She wanted to make him happy, but this all felt like too much.

She paid the bar for her taste of sake and turned her chair away from the bar as if to get up and leave, but she didn’t. She sat there frozen. _I couldn’t even do a simple retrieval mission, how am I supposed to do missions while pregnant?_ She certainly felt more tired than usual after this mission. Her stomach growled. Guess she also felt hungrier too. She got up slowly, still feeling the need to keep her back stiff. She slowly walked to the nearest ramen shop with thoughts still swirling in her head. This time thinking about what life would be like with a child with Kakashi. _Kakashi as a dad… He’d play and pick up our son and carry him on his back while walking to the park. My hair color, but his dad’s eyes… Maybe the little birthmark too…_ She thought, smiling. The thoughts running through her head, seemed so nice, so full of love. Something she wanted so greatly… But could she really have a child and still be ‘the ninja that doesn’t exist’? _Who’s going to watch this kid while Kakashi and I are both out on missions? My family is dead, his is dead, and I’m not ready, nor am I really cut out to be a stay at home mom. What if I get hurt during a mission and I can’t make it back… Will they just be waiting for me eternally? It’s not like anyone is going to be able to tell them what happened… They’ll just be left forever wondering… Is that anyway to raise a family?_

She got to the shop and ordered her ramen. Guess they had made plenty for the dinner rush because she was served before she could get many thoughts out. She grabbed some ramen with her chopsticks. She couldn’t give up Anbu yet with the dangers of the Akatsuki and Orochimaru out there, both of them just waiting to make their moves. She dropped the ramen on Kakashi’s shirt that she was wearing. _When did this get put on…? Kakashi must’ve changed me into it._ Kakashi… Clearly, she needed to talk things out with him, but first… The ramen…

* * *

She headed towards the hospital hoping Kakashi was still there. She felt the need to run, she was feeling anxious about the way she had left things. When she finally got to the hospital, she ran inside. She scanned the room but Kakashi wasn’t there. Nobody was. When walking out of the hospital she ran into Lady Tsunade.

“Where is he?” she asked.

“Oh, he said he went to go chasing after you before going on the mission I assigned him.” Lady Fifth answered while taken aback by the abruptness.

“Wait, you assigned him a mission?! You couldn’t wait until I spoke with him first?!” She shouted visibly growing more anxious by the second and on the verge of tears.

Tsunade grew impatient and visibly frustrated, “The world doesn’t wait for you Kessho, there’s a shortage of shinobi as you know and Kakashi is one of the best. I respected his wish to wait until he knew you were ok upon returning, but things couldn’t wait any longer than that. I’m sorry.”

She felt so anxious, her stomach in knots, so angry and frustrated at the whole situation, so… sick? She grabbed the small trash can nearby and threw up in it. Just what she needed… Morning sickness. She rushed back home hoping Kakashi would be there waiting for her when she arrived. When she arrived at Kakashi’s apartment and swung open the door, she found nothing but an empty apartment. Just as she was about to leave to try her house, she noticed a letter. She picked it up, it was certainly Kakashi’s hand writing. It read:

> _“My dearest Kessho,_
> 
> _I know this is a lot to take in. I have a mission I need to get to, but we need to talk when I get back. I want you to stay at my place while I’m gone. Being that far out by yourself isn’t good for you. Please do this for me. I will see you soon._
> 
> _Love,_
> 
> _Kakashi”_

Although things hadn’t been left the way she wanted, the letter brought some relief as she lay on the bed. She squirmed until her head was on his pillow and breathed in his lingering scent. Feeling the comfort and safety coming from his scent, she fell asleep.

When she woke up, she looked around hoping he’d be back already. Alas, nobody was there but her and some sleeping dogs. She got up still somewhat in a daze with some pain from the large scratch on her back and the wound on her chest. She figured she should at least get up and change the dressings on them. She knew Tsunade wasn’t going to assign her anything given her wounds and her new _condition_ . She took off her shirt and looked in the mirror. Originally she was to change her dressings but instead found herself focused on the pregnancy placing a hand on her stomach. _I don’t feel any different… Except!_ She lifted the toilet seat and let it out. _How the fuck am I supposed to complete missions and stay stealth while puking everywhere?! You can’t… That’s how. I’ll just be found out before I even manage to get any useful intelligence._ She brushed her teeth and cleaned her dressings.

After leaving the bathroom, she looked at the letter Kakashi had left. She knew what he meant when he said it wasn’t good for her. He meant he was worried if something happened while she was alone and still injured and how the pregnancy was affecting her. How now it wasn’t just her, but a child at risk. She thought he was overreacting, but she would follow his wishes. Afterall, she knew he was just worried because he cares.

She looked around at the bedroom. Light was bleeding through the blinds. She contemplated moping around and staying in bed all day… But she knew that wouldn’t be healthy. Instead, she headed towards the Hokage’s office to continue to train with Tsunade.

* * *

She had been training with Tsunade ever since she woke him up from the coma after being put through the Tsukuyomi. She had been placed under it as well with Itachi on another occasion. Nothing happened to her, but she saw what happened to the guy Itachi was focused on. It shook her to her very core every time she thought about it. Any time she thought about that having happened to Kakashi, tears welled up in her eyes and she never felt so angry. That was often the problem with her now… She felt all these _feelings_. Something she had been trained against doing, but somehow Kakashi made it so easy for her to feel. For her to feel anything. When she was in that dark place while Kakashi was in his coma, she never felt so helpless. So when Tsunade woke Kakashi up she decided to learn, so that way she wouldn’t feel helpless like that again.

After training with her all day, while occasionally taking morning sickness breaks, she headed back to Kakashi’s apartment. This continued to be her routine for every day while she waited for Kakashi to return. With each passing day, the knots in her stomach grew tighter… Which wasn’t really helping the morning sickness either. On her way home one day she saw Asuma sitting alone at the bar, so she decided to join him.

“Kessho!” He slurred slightly. “Get a bottle of sake for this woman!”

“No! No sake…” She sighed getting up on the bar stool.

“No sake…? Are-are you dying?” He asked, sounding deeply concerned.

“No, not quite.” She told him before ordering gyoza and water.

“Oh ok good… When I die…” He took a moment before letting out a small burp. “I want you to drink 3 bottles of sake at my grave. You gotta promise me!” He exclaimed.

“Alright, alright, I promise.” She reassured him.

“So why aren’t you drinking…?” He asked with confusion written all over his face.

“I’m pregnant.” She said plainly taking a swig of her water wishing it was a bottle of sake.

“Woah… That’s heavy… Does Kakashi know?” He blew the smoke away from her face.

“Yeah… He was excited.” She informed him.

“And you weren’t?” He asked with furrowed brows, trying his hardest to analyze what she was saying.

“I’m scared… I mean, we’re both shinobi… Who’s going to take care of this child when we’re both on missions? I’m not a stay at home mom!” She groaned. Asuma cracked up laughing so hard he nearly fell off the bar stool. The bartender came with her gyoza, and she began eating away, waiting for Asuma to calm down.

“I’m sorry…” He started while trying to catch his breath. “I just pictured you as a stay at home mom.” He told her when he finally calmed down.

“Dick.” She muttered.

“Well I mean, you two love each other right? You’ll figure it out. Don’t be worried about that now, you have time to figure it out and set a plan in place.” He assured her before taking a shot of sake. “Now on to me, how the fuck do I ask out Kurenai?”

“Oh so you’re finally going to ask her?” She teased.

“Yeah… But I don’t want her to say no.” Asuma confessed, slurring his words slightly.

“I don’t think she’ll say no.” She reassured him.

“Really?!” He asked with such excitement he sounded like an excited puppy.

“Yes really, just do it already!” She told him before eating her last gyoza.

“Alright, I’ll do it before I leave tomorrow.” He told her.

“Good, I’m going to head out.” She paid quickly and hugged Asuma from behind. “Thanks Asuma.”

“See ya Kessho!”

She left the bar and headed to Kakashi’s apartment. Once she got there she undressed and headed to bed. When she woke the next morning, she felt someone laying in the bed, but there was no arm wrapped around her waist. When she turned to him she had the intention to spoon him, but the morning sickness was coming up. She stood up on the bed and jumped down to run to the bathroom. After a few minutes, she felt her hair being held back.

“No. Go.” She managed to get out between bouts.

“I’m not going, it’s fine.” He muttered half asleep. When she finally finished she rested her back against the wall.

“I’m sorry for running out the way I did.” She admitted.

“Brush your teeth, then we can talk over some tea… I need something to wake me up anyways.” He instructed before helping her up. While he walked off to the kitchen, she brushed her teeth, trying to get rid of the taste in her mouth. When she was done Kakashi was half asleep rubbing his eyes in the kitchen. “Oh, I picked up the film. Your photo is there on the counter.”

Walking over to the counter, she looked at the photo and saw the Kakashi she knew. The soft hearted man just contemplating his life while staring off into space. She held the photo against her chest and smiled. “Thanks.” After adding her teleporting sign to it, she placed it back on the counter. Kakashi poured the hot water into two mugs and added some tea bags before heading out onto the balcony. Following him outside, they both sat down with their tea. After taking a sip, she realized he made her ginger tea to help soothe her stomach.

“I’m glad you’re home safe.” She mentioned quietly before stealing a glance at him. There was hurt all over his face… Hurt that had probably been stewing for the entire week he was gone. She could feel her stomach turning into knots again and she quickly took some sips of her tea while she waited for him to speak.

“Why’d you do it…? Why did you run?” He asked without taking his eyes off of whatever he was looking at in the distance.

“I was scared… I mean… Who’s going to take care of this kid…? We both know I’m not cut out to be a stay at home mom.” She admitted while shaking. _God I’ve never been this nervous about anything before._

He let out a single chuckle, “No… You are not a stay at home mom…” He contemplated. “It just hurt… a lot… I was happy and excited and you just ran out…”

“I know… I’m sorry… I just… I felt like I couldn’t breath. It was like my legs body took over and just got me out of the room that felt like it was closing in on me.” She trailed off and they stayed quiet for a while.

“Do you want it…?” He asked, finally turning to her, studying her face.

_Do I want it…?_ I thought of Kakashi, our boy, and I walking to the park with our boy hanging on to both of our hands as we swung him. The thought made me smile… “I do…”

“But…?” He asked cautiously, still studying her.

“Who’s going to take care of this kid? Kakashi… We don’t have any family to help out… How are we going to do this?” She asked, starting to feel exasperated.

“Is that all you’re concerned about?” He questioned.

“It’s a big concern!” She boomed.

“Yes, but that’s one we can figure out together… I need to know if there’s any reservations _you_ have.” Kakashi tried to put more plainly holding out his hand to her with less pain in his eye now. She reached out and grabbed on to his hand.

“I mean, I’m scared about what if I won’t be good enough of a mother… I never had one after all…” She confessed.

“I’m scared I won’t be good enough either… That’s still something we can figure out together.” He smiled at her and the rest of her knots in her stomach vanished.

“Asuma almost died laughing when he pictured me trying to be a stay at home mom.” She commented.

“Oh I bet…” He chuckled.

“Do… Do you think I can be a good mom?” she trembled. He got up, crouched in front of her, and rested his hands and chin on her lap.

“I think you’ll be a good mom… In your own special way.” He encouraged.

“I’m going to be a mom…” I told him and myself.

“I’m going to be a dad…” He told himself as he slowly sat down onto the floor.

“When are you leaving again?” She asked him.

“I don’t know but I might leave tonight…” He groaned. “But until then, I’m all yours.” He got up and wandered off inside while she sat enjoying the rest of her tea. When she was done, she grabbed both mugs and placed them in the sink. “Come onnnn get dressed. I want to do something with you today.” He whined.

“Alright, alright. I have to go tell Lady Tsunade first though.” She warned him as she walked to the bedroom and got dressed into her shinobi uniform. Afterwards they both headed to the Hokage’s office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Grammar is bad, but there's something that isn't a mistake, and instead is intentional. If you picked up on it, I hope you'll kind of get the gist of what's going on.


	38. Mistress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:
> 
> My dearest Kessho,
> 
> I hope the tea I left is still warm by the time you wake up. I had such a great day with you yesterday and I’m so thrilled to start building a life with you. I know there’s going to be times where you’ll feel overwhelmed, this is a big change, but I’m here to carry all of this weight with you. Everything we can figure out together, we have time. We can look into hiring some help, and I can sell my place and we can move into your house and build onto it. Can’t you see it? Our little girl playing in your tea garden?
> 
> I know it’s early to start thinking about this… But… I don’t know that I’ve ever felt this happy. You make me so happy Kessho… And I know we didn’t have the ideal start, but I’m happy with where it brought us.
> 
> I’ll see you soon,
> 
> Love Kakashi

Upon arrival she heard Lady fifth’s voice, “Come on in. Ah, Kakashi, you’re back. I assume you both have spoken and sorted things out?” She nodded in response. “Good, Kakashi I have your next assignment.”

“If it’s alright, I’d like to leave tomorrow morning…” Kakashi requested with a voice only slightly louder than a mumble.

“And I’m assuming you’re taking the day off…?” the Hokage raised an eyebrow, while she nodded again. “Alright, I suppose I can do that seeing as how this next one will be long. It’s a two-week escort. You’ll be back in time for the first sonogram.” Lady Tsunade finished with a smile. “Well go enjoy your day before I change my mind.”

They both quickly left the room. “Well what should we do?” She asked him.

“Well I’m hungry, how about we get breakfast first?” He suggested before heading to a local tea shop and getting something to eat. After eating and drinking some more ginger tea, they walked aimlessly around town and stopped when they came across a small festival.

“Are there always festivals in this town?” She questioned.

“Honestly, sometimes I think so.” He acknowledged with a chuckle. They walked down the street looking at the games and Kakashi stopped her when coming across a kunai throwing game. “I’m going to try to win you something.” He paid for three shots. First he held the kunai in his hand for a moment trying to see how it was weighted. Next he threw one of them.  _ Probably a test shot _ . He completely missed the target. He readjusted how he threw and got onto the target, but the kunai didn’t stick. The third time he got on target and it stuck, but it wasn’t too inward. The stall owner gave him a little bobble which he then passed on to her.

“I wanna try.” She told the stall owner and paid for three kunai.

“It’s not as easy as it looks.” He teased.

“Well it’s a good thing you didn’t make it look easy.” She retorted.

Feeling the kunai in her hand, she could tell they were unevenly weighted, so she readjusted how she would normally throw. On her first throw she managed to hit the target but the kunai didn’t stick. Feeling the tip of the kunai, she could tell they had been dulled or not kept sharp… Either way she was going to have to throw a lot harder than usual. Deciding the show off a little, she threw both at once and managed to get one a little closer to the target than Kakashi did. To celebrate, she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Oh it’s on…” He told her, narrowing his eye at her while they both handed money to the stall keeper. They both began throwing kunai, constantly readjusting trying to see who could get a bulls eye first. They were both doing so at such speed the stall owner looked like a headless chicken with all the running around he was doing.

**THUNK** .

“I WIN!” They both yelled at the same time. “No I do!” They both fought. She stuck out her tongue while he just pulled her in for a hug.

“Alright I’m just going to let you both have whatever you want…” The stall keeper announced with a mutter while out of breath.

She chose a porcelain bird mask with red eyes and placed it on him while he chose a dog mask with red eyes and red markings along the side before placing it on her. Holding hands they walked around to some other stalls watching the kids play for toys.

“Just think… In a few years we’ll be helping our kid win some toys…” He whispered to me making me feel elated, so I smiled at him only to remember he couldn’t see it behind the mask. I think he knew anyways though, because I saw him close his eye the same way he does when he smiles. “I’m hungry, lets get some food.”

They walked over to the food stalls and he grabbed some Ikayaki while she grabbed some Karaage. Heading towards a quieter area, they sat under a bench near a tree facing each other. They lifted their masks and began to eat the food they got.

“Ah well if it isn’t my two favorite love birds!” She could hear Jiraiya shouting from a distance. “How’s my favorite Lady Kunoichi doing?” He asked her. “I hope Kakashi over here is keeping you satisfied.” He elbowed Kakashi and Kakashi froze, food in his mouth slowly turning red. She quickly helped move the stick of food out of his mouth and cover his face while he remained unmoved.

“Yes plenty satisfied thanks.” She commented quickly.

“Oh, have you two been acting out my book?” Jiraiya waggled his brows and she could see Kakashi getting more visibly uncomfortable by the second, she lowered his bird mask for him seeing how he was still frozen in place.

“Yes and you know, I realized you were focusing too much on the male satisfaction, and not enough of the female satisfaction… Everyone loves a strong confident woman, right? So why the hell is the main woman in Icha Icha violence so meek in bed…?” She said sternly squaring Jiraiya up.

“Uh… I-I… I’m going to have to go do more research!” Jiraiya told her before running off. “See you two later!” He shouted. She sat back down in front of Kakashi who had let out a sigh of relief.

“That was a little more than I wanted to discuss…” Kakashi commented.

“I can see that.”

“How are you… So open about it…? Like it doesn’t bother you?” Kakashi questioned. She shrugged.

“I guess I kinda have to be given how I use my sexuality at times. Plus I know I’m good at what I do and I’m proud of it.” She answered.

“I mean I’d like to think I’m good…” Kakashi commented.

“You are…” She got lost in thought and when she came back she let out a small moan. “Very… Very good, yes.” She could see him smirk while he was taking a bite of his squid.

“I’m proud of being that good… But I just… I don’t know…” He trailed off.

“Kakashi, you’re very reserved in general, there’s nothing wrong with that.” She encouraged him.

“You don’t care?”

“Nah, you’re kinda cute when you get flustered like that. I might have to tease you a little in public.” His eye grew wide, then narrowed.

“No.” He pouted. She pulled him in for a deep kiss before he could pull up his mask from having been done eating. He fell into the kiss for a moment but quickly pulled away at hearing people pass by and he quickly pulled up his mask.

“See? Cute.” She teased.

“Ok, that’s it let’s go.” He instructed while grabbing her wrist and pulling down his mask.

After pushing up her mask she asked, “Oh you gonna manhandle me now?” She flirted. He pulled them into a small alley hidden away from the crowds. Without saying anything he pulled up his porcelain mask, pulled down his cloth one, and pinned her hands against the wall behind them.

“Maybe I am…” He growled in her eat before kissing her neck. Moving his lips towards the front of her neck he began to nibble softly, only to start sucking down hard. She moaned quietly clenching her fists, desperate to grab hold of something. Jumping in place she wrapped her legs around Kakashi’s hips and pulled him into her, but he stopped. “Not so fast…” He pressed his forehead to her porcelain mask. “Later” He growled letting go of her wrists, while she dropped her legs back down.

She was confused as to what his game was, what he was doing, but then she felt her neck. He had purposely left her a visible hickey…  _ That sly bastard.  _ Putting his masks back on, he held her hand and pulled her back out into the crowd. They spent the rest of the day perusing, watching everyone enjoy the festival. When they got back home in the evening, she rushed to the bathroom after taking off her shoes, remembering the hickey Kakashi gave her.

“You ass!” She shouted.

“What? I thought you were proud of your sexuality… This is just my way of making sure they know your sexuality is…” He wrapped his arms around her from behind and leaned into her ear. “Mine.” He growled.

“That’s great and all, but do you really think that I’m not going to get questions about this? And I’ll answer them.” She stated matter of factly.

“I won’t be around, I’ll be on a mission. You go ahead and tell them.” He taunted.

“So you think that Lady Tsunade won’t notice? You don’t care if the Hokage knows about our escapades?” She retorted. He went pale…  _ Guess he didn’t think that far ahead. _

“You can cover that up with makeup, right?” He gulped.

“I don’t know… It’s pretty dark…” She teased. “Plus it’s starting to grow on me. Seeing it in the mirror and thinking back to the way you just possessively pinned me like that.” She let out a small moan while running her fingers down her neck where the hickey was and popped her booty out a little to rub against him.

“Please don’t…” He pleaded.

“Are you begging Kakashi…?” She asked brazenly as she walked out of the bathroom grabbing his hand so he would follow her.

“Maybe…” He answered coyly.

“Maybe I’ll listen to your pleas…” He looked down at her hopeful, but hesitant. “After…” He raised an eyebrow. “I punish you…” She yanked his arm down so he knelt on the floor before her. Getting really close to him, she felt his mouth just below her abdomen up against her cargo pants. Lacing her fingers through his hair, she yanked and made him look up at her. “Does that sound fair?”

“Yes.” He nodded.

“Yes Mistress.” She hissed.

“Yes Mistress.” He repeated. She took a few steps back.

“Strip.” She commanded. Without another word he got up and stripped completely. She positioned him to the center of the small bedroom and pushed him down to kneel again. Walking to the top drawer of the dresser, she stood on her tippy toes and looked through seeing some new items she didn’t recognize. “Been shopping I see…”

“There’s a few things I thought might be fun to try.” He answered seductively.

“Mmmmm…” She grabbed the rope and her eyes rested on a riding crop; she grew a devious smile. “You did well.” Taking out the riding crop and resting it on the bed, she grabbed the rope and tied Kakashi’s wrists together behind his back. “I’ll be right back.” Walking into the bathroom, she changed into black lace panties, and a strappy lace bra. When she walked back out, she grabbed the crop and traced it along his shoulders before walking in front to face him. She could see the lust in his eye that wasn’t covered by his hair. Without a warning she slapped the crop onto his lower thigh and he winced. “I’m the one that’s going to be giving those lustful looks here.” She began to circle him, occasionally tracing the crop against his skin, building the anticipation while he looked to the floor.

**SNAP** . The crop hit his back, inhaling a wince but exhaling a moan.

Circling until she was facing him, she traced the crop from the base of his length, up his abdomen, chest, neck, and pushed up his chin. “Don’t look so doom and gloom… I can tell your body is enjoying it…” She leaned over so he had a full view of her cleavage.

“Yes mistress. I just… want to obey…” He smirked and those words… The power held behind them… It lit something up in her. As quick as she could:

**SNAP.** She hit the crop against his shoulder and he let out a low growl baring his teeth to her.

She was loving it, watching him grow, watching him get more antsy with each passing second as she flaunted herself before him while punishing him and taunting him. She licked her lips and slowly began to circle him again, tracing the crop against his skin. When she lifted it, she could see his muscles tense, bracing for impact. This pleased her, she bit her bottom lip into a smile before softly returning to trace his skin again. She watched his muscles relax under the touch of the crop.

**SNAP.** The crop hit his upper outer thigh, and she saw him try to struggle against his restraints.

**SNAP.** The crop hit his face.

“Pancakes.” He stated. She quickly dropped the crop, knelt before him, and cupped his face where he hit her.

“Was it too hard?” She asked as she started to use medical ninjutsu and get rid of the redness on his face.

“No, just… Not the face.” He asked.

“Ok…” She nodded, meeting his gaze and placing her other hand on his cheek. “Are you ok?” He nodded. “Do you want to stop?” She asked with concern. “It’s ok if you do.” He began to nudge forward with his nose, leaning forward, his face moving in search of his lips being pressed against her ear.

“Don’t stop mistress.” He growled. A smirk grew across her face. She got up, bent over to pick up the crop while ensuring to graze her chest across his face, and began tracing the crop against his skin again.

When she lifted up the crop, she saw his muscles tense up once again, quietly and carefully not touching him, she bent over to whisper in his ear suddenly and say “Jumpy are we?” He jumped slightly at hearing her. She snickered and before straightening,

**SNAP.** The crop hit his lower back causing him to let out a deep groan from behind gritted teeth.

She circled him again to stop facing him. Towering over him:

**SNAP.** The crop hit his right mid thigh.

**SNAP.** The crop hit his left mid-thigh.

She traced the crop down his fully harded length and she saw him shudder. After a smirk grew again on her face:

**SNAP.** The crop hit his upper right thigh.

**SNAP.** The crop hit his upper left thigh.

She traced the crop up his length, abdomen, chest, and pushed up his chin. “Up.” He stood up. Walking behind him, she undid the rope around his wrists and pushed him onto the bed where she straddled him. Grabbing his wrists again, she tied them above his head together, then tied them to a single bed post. After removing her wet black lace panties, she moved to sit on his face.

Without her needing to say anything, he began to part her slit with his tongue searching for the source that would give her pleasure. Already so aroused from all the anticipation and foreplay, she felt herself twitching at every flick his tongue gave her nub. Trying to steady herself and make the pleasure last, she clenched hard onto the headboard. He switched from flicking with his tongue to sucking, causing her to let out a loud moan. “Don’t… Stop…” She ordered breathily. She tried to focus on the pleasure she was receiving and her body took over as she ground herself against him. Lacing her fingers into his hair she pulled him against herself as she reached ecstasy.

Slowly she moved off of his face and curled down to kiss his lips. Reaching two fingers inside herself, she pulled out her stickiness. When she opened her mouth, she hovered her fingers over his to signal him to open. Once he did, she gently put the two fingers inside his mouth as he licked her fingers clean. She bit her bottom lip and smiled as she watched. After removing her fingers she kissed him again before crawling backwards with her butt up in the air and her chest pressing against his.

Once she felt his girth, she straightened only to take her still wet black lace panties and put them into his mouth. Carefully she positioned him so he was somewhat seated and able to see her. Gently, she brushed his hair away to reveal his sharingan, as she wanted him to remember what she was about to do. She continued to crawl back until his length was in front of her face. “You were so well behaved… I thought you could use a little reward…” She told him before licking him from the base to the tip.

“Thank you mistress” He mumbled from behind the panties in his mouth. She giggled deviously at hearing those words. She began playing with the tip in her mouth, twirling her tongue around his girth, which considering his thickness, was a lot easier said than done. With her hand she grabbed and began to rub the shaft after having licked it thoroughly. Placing her lips over his length, she began to bob up and down while rubbing his shaft with her hand in a rhythmic motion. Never taking her eyes off of him, she watched as his eyes rolled back every once in a while, fighting them, trying to not take his eyes off of her as he wanted to memorize every moment. She stopped to lick down his shaft again going down to his balls, cradling one in her mouth, then the next, licking up his shaft again stopping to flick his frenulum. Everytime she did, his length would twitch underneath her.

That’s when she knew he was ripe and ready. Growing a devious grin she stopped, and crawled up to him. As she did she watched him struggle against the rope. Slowly she removed the panties from his mouth and she could hear him growl. Never stopping her smile, she brushed her lips against his jawline, and neck without kissing him. She motioned to untie him, only to stop, tracing her hands down her arms and he struggled against the rope more in anticipation. Brushing her lips against his neck up to his ear, without stopping her smile, she told him “Behave…”

She crawled back kissing him on the lips as she backed away. Slowly she inserted him into herself. She began pushing herself up and back onto him, feeling her own curves from her hips, up to her breasts as she cupped and squeezed them while watching him. He was trying his best to enjoy himself, but he kept struggling against the rope, trying to break free like an animal caught in a trap. Pinching her own nipples, she picked up her pace while squeezing down her walls against his girth. As if a moment of clarity came to him, or he simply remembered he could’ve done this all along, he broke himself out of the rope. Swiftly she scooched them both down and pressed her hand against his chest pushing him back down into the bed while grabbing both of his wrists with her other hand.

She leaned forward while still keeping a steady pace and whispered into his ear: “Right now, you’re mine, and you will listen to your mistress.” She threatened in a voice deeper than she had anticipated. He calmed down some and nodded. “Now, I’lll allow you to thrust, but you can’t cum until I tell you to, understood?”

“Yes.” He began thrusting in and out of her and she let out a loud moan.

“Yes what?” She asked breathily.

“Yes mistress.” He let out between grunts. His pace kept increasing every few thrusts and she could feel herself getting close while he was straining himself to hold back. After a moment, she could tell she was about to finish as well.

“Now.” She whispered and a second later she could feel him filling her while she reached her own climax. After a few more thrusts, she got off of him, and sat up while he rested his head on her lap. Gently, she brushed the hair off of his face while he closed his sharingan eye and relaxed.

“That was… Intense…” he said quietly before closing his other eye and settling in.

“Good intense?” She asked.

“Very good… I never thought I’d be into being on this side of things…” He contemplated with his eyes still closed while catching his breath as she continued to brush his hair with her fingers.

“It can be nice to let go with someone you trust…” She thought aloud.

“Mhmmm…” He hummed. 

“Do you want or need anything?” She offered.

“Just… Don’t move yet…” He asked. She bent over to kiss his lips gently. When she parted he opened his eyes and smiled. “You’re going to hide it, right?”

“You did cheat with the ropes… But I’ll hide it.” She smiled while he let out a sigh of relief. They stayed there for a while before finally getting up for some water and a shower. After the shower they both went to bed and slept through the night.

* * *

The next morning when she awoke, she found some ginger tea that was just barely warm and a letter by the nightstand. Before she could read the letter, she was running off to the bathroom. When she finished brushing her teeth, she went back to read the letter.

> _ My dearest Kessho, _
> 
> _ I hope the tea I left is still warm by the time you wake up. I had such a great day with you yesterday and I’m so thrilled to start building a life with you. I know there’s going to be times where you’ll feel overwhelmed, this is a big change, but I’m here to carry all of this weight with you. Everything we can figure out together, we have time. We can look into hiring some help, and I can sell my place and we can move into your house and build onto it. Can’t you see it? Our little girl playing in your tea garden? _
> 
> _ I know it’s early to start thinking about this… But… I don’t know that I’ve ever felt this happy. You make me so happy Kessho… And I know we didn’t have the ideal start, but I’m happy with where it brought us. _
> 
> _ I’ll see you soon, _
> 
> _ Love Kakashi _

A tear fell onto the letter before she held it up to her chest. She picked up the tea and drank it slowly trying to get her stomach to settle. Once she felt she was over her nausea, she got up, got dressed, covered her hickey, and headed to the Hokage’s office. 

* * *

When she walked in Jiraiya was there speaking with her.

“Ah Kessho, good timing. Lock the door please.” Lady Tsunade instructed, she obliged.

“Lady Kunoichi? So Kessho is your name…” Jiraiya commented.

“You know her?” Lady Fifth asked.

“Yeah, she’s a fan of my books.” Jiraiya answered with pride while she rolled her eyes.

“Really?! Seriously?” Lady Tsunade was shocked and slightly appalled. She shrugged.

“I think they’re good.” She put plainly.

“Well anyways, back to business. I guess Sakura is determined to find Orochimaru in the Land of Sound and Naruto is determined to go after her to the point there’s no stopping them. Jiraiya offered to accompany them as long as I made it an official S-Ranked mission. I need you to fill Jiraiya in on your findings. He might be an idiot, but he knows better than to say anything.”

“Oh I don’t think he’ll say anything…” She told them slyly. Jiraiya gulped. “But do you really think this is wise?”

“I think it’s our only choice given how stubborn Kakashi's team is.” Lady Fifth answered. She nodded and turned to Jiraiya.

“I’m not telling you where the hideout is.” She said plainly.

“Kessho-!” Lady Tsunade yelled while Jiraiya’s face was bewildered. She quickly held up a hand to Lady Tsunade without breaking eye contact with Jiraiya.

“Let me explain. I’m not telling you because they have eyes all over that town. If you simply show up there directly, they’ll know we knew where their location was, which might also lead them to believe their other locations might be compromised as well. They’ll soon vanish before we have a chance to even set anything in motion.” She explained.

“You’re not the only one who can manage stealth you know.” Jiraiya gave a tight lipped smile.

“I’m sorry but you can’t manage the way I can. Plus you’re a legendary Sanin, everybody knows you and you were Orochimaru’s friend. You really think that between you, Naruto, and Sakura you will go unnoticed?” She placed a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow at him. “Besides, if you’re as good as you say you are, you should be able to find it anyways, or are you doubting your abilities?”

“I guess you’re right. More work, but I’ll manage.” Jiraiya answered. “Now what else can you tell me?” He interrogated.

“I honestly don’t know whether Orochimaru or any of them will be there. So far we know of three hideouts, but there’s one I doubt he’s at, leaving only the other two left, one of which is the one in the sound village. The way I infiltrated is not going to be able to be the way you do so. I can say there were many traps, but I didn’t focus on them much because of the way I infiltrated I knew I wouldn’t be triggering many if any at all.”

“Well how did you infiltrate?” Jiraiya interrupted.

“Let’s just say I used some high level Anbu techniques… Anyways, there’s going to be people that are… Enhanced. They’ve been experimented on to augment whatever natural abilities they already possess. It seemed some were dying while I was there, likely unable to tolerate it. There were a lot of empty rooms, likely housing those that are being experimented on. Other than that,… There’s not much else. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help…” she finished.

“How long were you there? A day or two?” Jiraiya asked.

“Nearly two weeks.” She answered.

“And that’s all you got?! Are you sure you’re as good as you say you are…?” Jiraiya exclaimed.

“Oh I got plenty of information. Lots of details about limb regeneration, cellular regeneration, inflammation, hemostasis, reepithelialization, immune response…” Jiraiya’s brows furrowed the more she went on. “That face right there…? That’s why I didn’t include that part.”

“Are you calling me an idiot?!” Jiraiya asked.

Lady Tsunade who had been listening to the conversation the entire time finally spoke, “The more I get to know you, the more I grow to like you Kessho” The Hokage chuckled.

“No, not an idiot… Just not medically proficient.” She corrected. Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.

“Haha… Well.” He put on a serious face. “If that’s all you’ve got for me… I guess I’ll head on out then.” Jiraiya left and Lady Tsunade informed her that she would begin an apprenticeship treating patients at the hospital so she could get certified as a medical ninja.

“You do know this is just something I’m doing to keep me occupied and useful and this is not something I intend to do permanently, right?” She asked Lady Fifth.

“Oh I know. As soon as you’re able, there’s plenty of missions for you to do.” The Hokage told her on the way to the hospital, while she pulled in a fist in excitement.

The next two weeks flew by as she trained for her certification exam. The nights were lonely, but the dogs kept her warm as she slept in Kakashi’s bed. She knew he didn’t like it… but he wasn’t there, so she did it anyways.  _ He should be home soon… I’m so excited… I’m… Giddy…? _ She thought while walking home.

“Kessho!” Genma was calling from a distance. She waited for him to catch up to her. “I haven’t seen you around to spar with lately.” He commented.

“What’s the matter, miss my ass kicking?” She smiled. He scoffed.

“As if! So what’s this about you becoming a medical ninja?” He questioned while they walked to Kakashi’s place.

“Well I thought it might be useful to be able to treat you after the ass whoopings I give you.” She joked while he scoffed again. “I’ll tell you because you’re one of my closest friends, but it’s still early and I don’t want to make a big deal out of things… But I’m pregnant. I’ve been throwing up every once in a while and since my specialty is stealth.. I can’t really go on missions when my stomach is going to give me away.”

“You’re having a kid?!... Well there’s something I’d never see.” Genma chuckled.

“I’m having a hard-enough time telling myself that I don’t need it from you Genma!” She snapped.

They saw a prisoner running with someone’s purse across the street, they turned to each other and nodded. Genma appeared before the prisoner and her behind. She swiped her leg out to knock the prisoner down and sat on the prisoner grabbing his wrists behind him with one hand and holding out her hand to Genma. “Give me your senbon.” She demanded. He grabbed one and handed it to her and placed it in the prisoner’s neck.

“Alright. He should be good to transport, just be careful to not move the senbon. Once you take it out, he won’t be paralyzed anymore. I’ll let you take him to wherever it is they need to go.” She told him.

“Where’d you learn that?” Genma asked.

“Anbu.” She shrugged.

“You’re teaching me after your daily medical training. You need to keep up your training for when you’re OK’d to go back on missions.” Genma demanded.

“I could use that… Thanks.” She smiled. Genma gave a quick wave and was off. Heading back to the apartment she wondered whether there were any more escaped prisoners running around.

When she got back to the apartment, she started to make some miso soup with eggplant, and some salmon. By the time she sat down to eat, her silver haired man walked through the door. She started to get up, but Kakashi shook his head.

“I’ll get it myself and join you in a second.” He smiled before grabbing a helping, and sitting down to eat. “You run into any prisoners today?”

“Yeah I ran into Genma and we saw one running down the street. We cornered them and took them down pretty easy though, then I had Genma take the prisoner.” She answered. “Did you?”

“Yeah I got two on my way over here. I heard that there was a prison break and Asuma and Kurenai are in the hospital” she started to get up but Kakashi stopped her, “They’re fine. We can visit them before our appointment tomorrow.”

She settled back down and continued to eat. “I’ve been training for the medical ninja certification.” She commented.

“Oh so you’re going to be a double threat now?” He questioned.

“Technically a triple threat… Jonin, Anbu, and medic.” She stated matter of factly.

“Well look at you…” He smiled his close eyed smile.

They finished the rest of the dinner in silence and she put the rest of the food away while he cleaned the dishes. She started to change into some PJ’s and he went to take a shower. When he came out wrapped in only a towel, she saw a gash badly stitched up on his leg.

“Stop.” She demanded, and he stopped.

“I’m actually kind of tired Kessho, maybe in the morning…?” He asked but she ignored him and focused on the gash.

“Go sit on the bed.” She told him while pulling up the desk chair. Grabbing his right foot, she placed it on her lap and formed a little chakra blade with her finger. After cutting the stitching, she pulled out the surgical thread and used her medical ninjutsu to heal the gash. “Good as new.” She smiled.

“Well that’s going to come in handy.” He mentioned while looking at where the gash was.

“That’s not an excuse to be reckless!” She scolded while wagging her finger. “It’s not just you, you have to think about anymore.” She got up and put the chair back by the desk before facing him. He carefully lifted the sweatshirt she was wearing and kissed her stomach.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” He told her before she went off to turn off the lights. “Come into bed.”

“Well if you’re going to sleep naked, then so am I.” She told him while stripping down before joining him in bed. He grabbed hold of the letter on the nightstand, it was the most recent one he wrote to her.

“Why is this still here?” He asked while settling in to spoon her

“I keep all your letters.” She informed him.

“You do?”

“Yeah, you know those boxes on the top shelf of my bookcase in my living room?” He nodded. “Every single last letter, even the ones from years ago… They’re all up there.”

“But why is this one  _ here _ ?” He questioned.

“Because I’ve been reading it every night before bed… I want you to be happy. It makes me happy that you’re happy.” He kissed her cheek and placed the letter on the nightstand.

“Ditto.” He whispered.

“You have such a way with words.” She joked and they laughed.

“Stop making me laugh, I’m tired…” He yawned while wrapping his arm around her.

“Night.” She told him before they both drifted off into sleep.


	39. Heartbeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> The next morning they made their way to the hospital after breakfast. They stopped at reception to ask where Asuma was staying and to check in. She ran ahead to Asuma’s room while Kakashi walked lazily behind her.
> 
> “Asuma! You big dope! What’d you fuck up this time?!” She exclaimed before a pillow was thrown at her, which she caught.
> 
> “Kurenai is sleeping.” He told her in hushed tones.
> 
> “Oooooo shared room…” She teased quietly standing by his bed, handing him back the pillow.
> 
> “It’s not like that…” He informed her.
> 
> “Not yet it isn’t…” She poked his arm.
> 
> “How are you so… energetic this morning?” He wondered.
> 
> “Well if you must know…” Kakashi entered the room as she continued. “Our first sonogram is today.”

The next morning they made their way to the hospital after breakfast. They stopped at reception to ask where Asuma was staying and to check in. She ran ahead to Asuma’s room while Kakashi walked lazily behind her.

“Asuma! You big dope! What’d you fuck up this time?!” She exclaimed before a pillow was thrown at her, which she caught.

“Kurenai is sleeping.” He told her in hushed tones.

“Oooooo shared room…” She teased quietly standing by his bed, handing him back the pillow.

“It’s not like that…” He informed her.

“Not yet it isn’t…” She poked his arm.

“How are  _ you _ so… energetic this morning?” He wondered.

“Well if you must know…” Kakashi entered the room as she continued. “Our first sonogram is today.”

“So you didn’t come all this way to see me?” He joked.

“Actually she tried to leave last night to come see you as soon as I told her you were here, but I convinced her to hold off until this morning.” Kakashi corrected.

“Well look at you all sentimental.” He teased and she stuck her tongue out.

“We should probably get going.” Kakashi told her.

“Good, maybe I’ll finally get some sleep.” He chuckled.

“Not for long, I work here now.” She informed him.

“I’m doomed.” He commented while covering his face with the pillow as they walked out. The nurse found them and escorted them to a private examination room. She laid on the examination table while Kakashi held her hand and they both waited for the doctor to join them. When Lady Tsunade came into the room she sat up and bowed her head.

“Lady Fifth, I’m sorry I wasn’t expecting you.” She stuttered.

“Well, two of my best shinobi are having a child, I’m going to make sure I’m the one overseeing everything.” The Hokage informed.

“Yes Lady Tsunade, it would be an honor for someone of your caliber to oversee.” She responded.

“Alright, lift up your mesh shirt.” The Hokage instructed. She complied and lifted the mesh shirt, which led to a cool gel being placed on her stomach, along with the ultrasound apparatus pressing against her lower abdomen. “Alright, there’s the umbilical cord, the yolk sac, the amniotic sac, placenta is attached, everything looks good! And this right here,” Lady Fifth pointed at the screen. “Is your baby.”

“The little peanut?” Kakashi asked.

“Yes the peanut.” She assured him squeezing his hand. He smiled so wide he was squinting, not wanting to take his eyes off of the little baby peanut.

“Alright, now we will get you set on some prenatals, no more sushi, and keep drinking the ginger tea for morning sickness.” Lady Fifth informed her before turning to Kakashi. “And for you I have a month long S-ranked mission, just in time to be back for the next ultrasound! Oh and you need to leave before nightfall.” The Hokage handed him the mission info and headed out the door before they could say anything else.

Kakashi groaned and sat down on the chair behind him resting his head in his hands. After wiping the gel off with the cloth she was given, she sat next to him and put her arm around him. “Let’s go home and just lay in bed… ok?” He nodded and they both got up and went back to his apartment.

When they got there, she stripped down to underwear and her cropped sweatshirt, while Kakashi stripped down to his pants. They both crawled under the covers and spooned.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been around lately.” He told her after kissing her cheek. She turned to face him.

“It’s ok… I understand.” She gave him a half-hearted smile. “Do you think that… If we hadn’t met 5 years ago… And I had just come in as a regular Jonin, would we be together?”

He rolled over and stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. After a while he turned back to face her. “I don’t think so… Would you have told me the things you did?”

“Hmmm…. No, probably not.”

“Why did you tell me? And don’t say that it’s because it was easy… That’s not the only reason.”

It was her turn to roll back and stare at the ceiling deep in thought.

“Apart from it being easy…” She rolled back to face him. “I guess I suppose it’s because I thought you would understand… You were fresh out of Anbu… Why did you leave the Anbu anyways?”

“Lord Third asked me to. He said my cold dead heart had finally grown a pulse again.” He joked and she chuckled.

“Does that mean my heart is still dead and cold?” She asked him.

“I don’t know, let me check.” He buried the side of his head in her chest. “Hmmmm… Your chest is warm… But I don’t know if your heart is.” He teased before lifting his head back up to face her. “Would you still have been attracted to me if you hadn’t seen my face the first time?”

“Oh yeah for sure, it adds to the allure and the mystery. What about you, if you had seen me for the first time now?”

“With these curves? And those dresses you wear…?” He growled slightly towards the end as he felt her curves.

“What would you have thought when you heard I was Anbu? Would you have spoken to me then? I probably would’ve tried speaking to you once I found out.” She asked him.

“I don’t think I would’ve initiated conversation. I would have observed you more closely-“

“You would’ve spied on me?!” She teased

“Not spy, just… watch” His cheeks grew a little pink. “I would’ve responded if you had initiated talking though.”

“I wonder how that week of me shadowing you would’ve gone…” She drifted off into thought. He pulled her close to her and rested his hand on her stomach.

“I don’t wanna go…” He groaned.

“I know… But you have to… And I’ll be here waiting when you get back… Just be safe and make it home ok.” She instructed him.

“I will.” He squeezed her for a moment before getting up to get prepared for his mission. She sat up and watched him from the bed as he packed his bag. Leaning down to her he pressed his forehead against hers. “I love you.”

“I love you too” She smiled. He gave her a deep kiss that gave every indication that he didn’t want it to end, and when his lips parted, they lingered before her for a moment. After fully pulling away he headed to the door and left.

The next few weeks she spent in and out of the hospital, training to get her medical certification, and training with Genma to keep her physical abilities sharp.

“Even with a belly, you still manage to kick my ass…” Genma commented walking over to get some water.

“Belly?! The fuck do you mean belly?!” She shouted.

“Aw come on Kessho! Even I can see that those pants are tighter on you.” He said exasperated while holding his hand out gesturing at her.

“Those are some fighting words… You up for another round?” She challenged.

“Nah, I gotta get going. I have a date.” Genma stuck out his chest in pride.

“Oooooo a date? Who’s the lucky lady?” She teased while walking over to get some water and leaning on the table.

“She’s a waitress at the dumpling shop.” Genma answered.

“Is she cute?” She asked as her breathing was finally slowing.

“Yea…” Genma’s cheeks were turning red again, but not from the workout.

“Ooooo… You really like her… Go buy her a flower, nothing special or fancy, just a lone flower for the date.” She suggested.

“That’s not a bad idea… Well if I’m going to be on time, I gotta head out. See ya!” He waved before leaving.

After a brief moment, she headed out to the locker room for a quick shower and to change into some new clothes. When left the gym, she made her way back to Kakashi’s. On the way there, she noticed a baby shop. She hadn’t allowed herself to look in there before, because she felt it was too early, and it was something she wanted to do with Kakashi… But she had been depriving herself of going in for almost a month… And today she decided to give in.

When she walked into the store she saw all the baby clothes, the little booties, the bottles.  _ This was a bad idea… There’s so much stuff! _ After perusing around the store she started to head out. It wasn’t until I was nearly at the door where I saw a rack of teddy bears. These adorable little plain teddy bears and I could picture our baby boy dragging his teddy bear around the house. That’s when I knew I’d allow myself to get one little thing for him.

After she paid, she took the bear back to Kakashi’s apartment. She thought about showing it to him, but she thought she’d be too embarrassed, so she added her symbol to it and teleported it back to her house.

When she was done eating, she changed into PJ’s and headed off to bed needing her sleep to take her certification exam tomorrow.

* * *

“Well congratulations Kessho, you’re a full-fledged medical ninja now.” Lady Tsunade declared. “I’ll see you tomorrow for your ultrasound.”

She bowed and left running home hoping for Kakashi to be there by the time she got back, but he wasn’t. The apartment was still empty. Even the dogs were out roaming around. She bit her thumb and summoned Kiki, who was alert and ready to go. “We aren’t on a mission, I just... wanted some company.” Kiki placed her two paws onto her thigh and stretched up asking for pets. She picked Kiki up and sat on the couch petting her.

“I passed my exam and became a medical ninja today.” She told Kiki as she moved to lay down on the couch. She watched out to the balcony and saw that it had begun to snow.

_ First snow of the season… I hope he comes home soon… _

When she woke up, she felt a strong arm wrapped around her and a bed underneath her. A smile grew on her face as she nestled into him. He let out a happy hum. “I’m so happy you’re home.” She rejoiced, still unable to stop herself from smiling.

“Me too… I missed you and sleeping outside does not compare to sleeping with you nestled into me.” He cooed while she turned around to lay facing him.

“Hopefully you can have a break this time before having to go out on another mission.” She wished, her smile finally fading.

“I hope so too…” He kissed her forehead before pulling her into an embrace. “So did you pass?”

“I did!” She exclaimed.

“Really?!” He beamed separating the embrace to read her face which was grinning from ear to ear shrinking her neck as to try and hide away. “We have to celebrate!”

“Ok but I’m having cravings and I know you don’t like sweets so let’s go to a tea shop so we can both have something we like.” She suggested.

“Sounds perfect.” He kissed her lips while cupping her cheek and pressed his forehead against hers. “I love you.”

She smiled and rested her hand on his, “I love you too.”

After a moment of time-standing-still bliss, he rushed out of bed “Come on get dressed! I don’t want to be late!” He yelled, tossing clothes at her.

She looked out the window and saw it was snowing. “I thought that it was snow, not the sky falling.”

“Haha.” He mentioned sarcastically. “This is important. It’s our child, it’s different.” He explained while nearly falling over from rushing to put on his pants.

She eased herself out of bed trying to bend over and put on her pants. While on his knees, he rushed over to her and rested his eyes on her stomach that was now showing ever so slightly. “If you say  **anything** about how it’s gotten bigger, I will end you.” She threatened. His eyes were wide with wonder as he put a gentle hand on her stomach while she buttoned her pants underneath her belly. “You won’t be able to feel anything yet… It’s still too small…” She told him softly while resting a hand in his hair. He held his ear up to her stomach and she let out a small chuckle. “We can ask to hear the heartbeat today…”

His gaze went towards hers and his eyes were so full of the joy that matched the smile across his face. “Really?!” He boomed.

“Yes really, now finish getting dressed.” She quickly put on a sports bra and her cropped sweatshirt.

“No mesh?” He asked while putting on his sweatshirt.

“It’s too tight.” She grumbled and he started to laugh but she shot daggers quickly which quieted them down. They both headed to the door and grabbed their cloaks.

“You should consider adjusting your uniform…” He suggested cautiously.

“I know…” She groaned as they both headed out to the tea shop.

After they both ate, they headed to the hospital for their appointment. They were escorted to a private exam room where she laid onto the exam table. Kakashi sat down in a chair where he began to tap his hands on his knees waiting impatiently. She reached out a hand to which he took. “She’ll be here in a few minutes, just relax.” He got off of the chair and walked over to her placing a kiss on her forehead through his mask.

As if she had heard them, Lady Tsunade walked into the room. “Alright, lets get to it.” The Hokage placed the cool gel on her stomach and began the ultrasound. “Placenta is still attached… Fetal development looks nice…” Lady Fifth turned the screen towards them. “There’s the arms, and legs.” She mentioned while pointing at the screen. “And that’s… the heartbeat.”

The sound of a quiet thumping filled the room, and Kakashi was ecstatic. He was wearing his closed eyed smile and even let out a little tear. Once she saw that she took the hand she was holding and kissed it gently and held it tightly to her chest as she felt herself reach cloud nine.

“Alright now I hate to disrupt your happiness but Kakashi I need you to leave immediately on another mission.” Lady Tsunade instructed interrupting their thoughts bringing them crashing down.

“Lady Tsunade is this really necessary?!” She couldn’t help but whine.

The Fifth Hokage looked almost as if she was about to snap, but quickly calmed herself and spoke with a serious tone: “I’m sorry. Believe me I take no pleasure in ripping you two from such a joyful moment, but we are short handed as it is, and it turns out one of my best shinobi can’t really go out on missions right now… So all the missions I’d normally hand to you I’ve been moving them to Kakashi.” Their brains paused for a moment as they thought about the dangers that each other had gone through/was going through. Lady Tsunade turned to Kakashi, “Look it’s a three week mission, I promise to not put you on another one after that until she has the 4 month ultrasound. It’s the best I can do right now given the state of Konoha.” The Hokage bargained.

Kakashi bent down and pressed his forehead against hers and took off her bandana to brush his fingers through her hair. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. “I know it’s been hard, and I know I said I’d be here… But these three weeks will go by before you know it. And then we can have a whole week together, just you and me. We can stay in and watch the snow, and read, and plan for our new baby girl… It’ll be ok. I promise.” He tried his best to reassure her as she felt tears run her cheeks she nodded. “Ok, it’ll be ok.” He told her before lowering his mask to kiss her. The kiss started as a graze, but she hastily wrapped her hands through his hair and pulled him in. She turned the kiss into a desperate want to feel close to each other as they got lost in each other and the world around them faded away…. Only to have Lady Fifth clear her throat. They slowly decreased the passion in the kiss ending with lingering grazes. He pressed his forehead against hers again, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She held on to his hand as he accepted the mission information from the Hokage and continued to hold on until his fingertips left hers as he left the room. Without saying anything she wiped her stomach and cleaned the tears off of her face before sitting up.

“There’s some shinobi that were brought in from a failed mission that I need you to treat right away.” Lady Tsunade informed her quietly.

“Yes, my Lady.” She bowed her head and ran off to find the patients. When she got there she rushed at seeing Genma lying in one of the beds waiting to be treated. “Genma! What’d you fuck up this time?”

Genma chuckled and coughed. “Don’t make me laugh, it hurts.” She began to work on his wounds. “You’re getting fat.” He told her.

“Do you want to die? Because I can stop treating you right now.” She warned with a slightly joking tone.

“I can’t die, I have another date.” He informed her.

“Oh so you didn’t fuck up that part of your life.” She commented.

“Yeah, she really liked the flower.” He thanked her.

“Good, now don’t talk, I’m going to work on your chest. You can nod or shake your head.” She instructed. “Do you want me to tell her you’re here?” He nodded. “Do you have something of hers on you?” He nodded again pulling a necklace out of his pocket. “Seems like you two are getting serious.” She suggested while Genma’s cheeks turned red. “Oooooo. You are! Aw that’s so cute, I’m happy for you Genma. Alright, you’re going to need your chest bandaged up, I’m going to step away for a moment and then I’ll work on your leg, ok?” He nodded.

She stepped away with the necklace in hand, grabbed some scrap paper and a pen and headed into a supply closet. She lowered her pants, bit her thumb and summoned Kiki. “Kiki, the scent from this necklace, the female one, I need you to take this note to them.” She instructed holding up the necklace with one hand and tucking the note into her collar with the other. Kiki tapped with her two front paws. “Alright, well go on then!” Kiki disappeared. She pulled up her pants and buttoned them under her belly. When she walked out of the room, she went to wash her hands and bandage her thumb. Once she started to make her way back, she saw Sakura wearing a hospital uniform. “Oh Sakura, you’re working here?”

“Yeah I’ve been training with Lady Tsunade. She told me you’re officially a medical ninja now? That’s great!” Sakura told her.

“Yeah thanks I just thought I’d broaden my skill set. I have a patient I need to get back to though. I’ll see you around!” She responded before walking back and treating Genma’s leg. When she moved on to the next patient, she saw Genma’s girlfriend come in out of the corner of her eye. She was carrying flowers and placed them by his bedside before sitting down with him. Once she was done with that patient, she remembered she still had the necklace and walked over to the two.

“Sorry, I forgot to give it back, here’s the necklace.” She handed the necklace over to Genma. “By the way, you can talk now… You just couldn’t because I was working on your lungs and I needed you to not move so much…”

“YOU JERK WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME THAT BEFORE?!” He shouted and she nearly keeled over in laughter, holding her stomach while grabbing onto the railing of his bed.

“I thought it was obvious…” She shrugged. “Thanks though, I could use the laugh after the day I had.” Genma was still pouting while his girlfriend snickered. “So, aren’t you going to introduce me?”

“Kessho, this is my girlfriend, Haruki.” Genma introduced, and Haruki smiled and waved politely.

“It’s nice to meet you. You can stay for a few hours, but after that you’ll need to leave. Genma’s going to need some rest, but you can come back tomorrow. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other patients.” She smiled, bowed, and went off to treat her other patients as she did for the rest of the day.


	40. Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> When she got there Ino greeted her, ever so chipper. “Do you have a cherry blossom sapling…?” She mumbled.
> 
> “Yes we have one, but you’re going to want to get a clear tarp to cover it with, and hold it down with some rocks. Are you sure you still want it?” Ino asked. She nodded, and grabbed the tarp and sapling while Ino rung her up. “Are you ok Kessho-sensei? We’ve been missing you during training.” Ino commented.
> 
> “I’m fine, just enjoying a little vacation is all.” She gave Ino her best fake smile before leaving the shop. With her things in hand, she walked to her house. When she got there she found a spot a bit further out from her tea garden and placed the sapling and tarp down. Walking into her shed, she pulled out a shovel before opening the bottle of whiskey and taking a swig. Dragging the shovel to where the sapling was, she took another swig of her whiskey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TW***   
> miscarriage

It had been two weeks since Kakashi left and she found herself waking up every morning around sunrise rushing to the bathroom with morning sickness. Resting her head on the cool porcelain toilet seat, she brushed her hair and tied it up as it always managed to come undone the night before. She felt a sudden wetness between her thighs and a sharp intense pain at her lower abdomen. Twisting and contorting into the fetal position, she felt the wetness and raised her fingers up to her eyes to see. Blood. No. No. No. No. I will not lose this child. I started to try to use my medical ninjutsu to stop the bleeding, but the pain was causing my focus to drift… It was too much.

“PAKKUN! PAKKUN!!!” I yelled as loud as I could. Hurried dog paws brushed against the wood floor and onto the cold tile I could sense his fear and confusion, so I grabbed his collar and pulled him to me. “I need one of you to get help, and get Lady Tsunade. You tell her I’m not losing this baby. And then Pakkun.” I winced and groaned at the pain. “You…. You find him… You bring him to me.” I let go of his collar and I could feel myself flushed. The pain was too much… It was unbearable… I was drifting in and out….

Fuzzy blurs of people… 

Being pushed onto a stretcher. 

Shouting, so much shouting… But the words were blurred. 

Buildings… Buildings passing too quickly to make out where. 

White lights… Bright white lights and feeling exposed.

She woke up to her silver haired man holding her hand between the two of his, his forehead pressed up against their hands.

“You’re here…” Her voice sounded raspy. He looked up surprised to see her awake, his eyes soft but relieved. He looked battered and tired, as if he ran the whole way here.

“Of course I am…” He whispered.

“How long… Was I out?” She asked, trying to clear her voice, it felt like she had been screaming. Lady Tsunade came into the room.

“Not long.” The Fifth Hokage told them as she sat down in a chair before the two of them. “You had what is called a spontaneous incomplete abortion…” Lady Tsunade kept talking, but she couldn’t hear anything anymore. The tears kept streaming down and she pushed through the pelvic pain to try and get closer to Kakashi. He shrouded her and rested his head on hers as if trying to protect her from anything else that might come their way. Reality seemed to fade away from her as she went into a sort of trance, not wanting to accept what’s before her. She could feel Kakashi’s head raise as he asked Lady Tsunade something without removing his arms from around her head, still protecting her. There was an attempt to listen to what they were saying, but she still couldn’t bring herself to focus on reality. He rested his head on hers again as Lady Tsunade left the room.

After a few moments, a nurse came into the room and grabbed her arm that wasn’t underneath her head, to pull out the IV. Once that was done, Kakashi got up to help her up. She stood still, unsure what to do… It was like she forgot how to move. He put a cloak around her and buttoned it, before picking her up. She curled into him reflexively, as if it was the only thing holding her together as she started to drift into numbness. She worked so hard to leave the numbness, she wasn’t sure she was ready to drift away… Without thinking about it, she lightly began to bite her thumb, not to break the skin, but to feel her teeth there.

He was walking them outside, she was slowly coming back to reality, and she realized that he was taking them home. Guilt came over her, as she thought how heartbroken he must be as well. She felt selfish, but she couldn’t stop herself from being selfish in that instant… so she let him carry her home. Once they got to the apartment, he placed her gently on the bed. To his surprise, she got up on her knees and steadied herself by placing her hands on his shoulders. His eye read defeat, and he waited for her to see what she would do. Slowly, she took off his head band, but he kept his sharingan eye closed. After placing the headband on the nightstand, she lowered his mask and cupped his face. The edges of his lips that were normally curved upwards around her were now curved down, his eye so sad and tired… She kissed his forehead, and before parting her lips from it, she whispered “I’m sorry…” as a tear rolled down her cheek.

He took her wrists into his hands and lowered them from his face. “I’m going to take a shower.” She felt her breathing quicken into an early panic. “I’m not leaving, I’m not going anywhere, I’ll just be in the shower.” He cooed placing a hand on her cheek as she leaned into it. Sitting back onto the bed, she nodded and he made his way into the bathroom. Unmoving herself, she listened to his movements, as if to make sure he didn’t suddenly vanish.

The crinkling of clothes, the shower being turned on as patters of water hit the tiles beneath them. Sounds of bottles opening. Fists slamming against the tile wall. She rushed into the bathroom taking her clothes off pushing through the pelvic pain. When she opened the shower door, she found him seated on the floor, his back against the wall, arms wrapped around his legs and forehead on his knees as the water poured over him. Slowly and carefully she slid down and sat next to him, putting her arm around him and resting her head on his shoulder. She could tell he was crying silently, trying to hide his face. Very gently, she placed a kiss on his shoulder and waited for as long as he needed.

* * *

An hour or two seemed to pass, she wasn’t sure, but they were good and pruny by the time he lifted his face. He got up slowly and then helped her up before turning off the showerhead. They both dried off and went back to the bed. Night had fallen in the time they had been in there. They both got into bed and cuddled facing each other, their eyes occasionally staring off past each other as they met. Their legs intertwined and they could both feel themselves drifting in and out of nothingness. Desperate to feel something, she cupped his cheek and pulled him into a kiss. She could feel his brows furrowed as she pressed her forehead against his, feeling unsure if this was the right way… He moved his hand from her waist to her upper back and pushed her into him pulling her into a deep kiss filled with anger and sadness that broke too soon.

They were feeling… Through those kisses they gave each other, they could feel each other’s hurt, pain, sadness, despair, and a longing for healing that wouldn’t come any time soon. She wrapped her fingers in his hair as did he, pressing each other’s faces together to try and deepen the kiss as much as they could. Quickly wanting more of him, she wrapped her leg around his hips and pulled him to her. They rolled around to where he was on top of her and her other arm wrapped around him as she squeezed him tightly, as if she were to let go everything between them would end.

Their tongues danced as tears rolled down their cheeks, all in an attempt to feel themselves in the moment. She could feel him growing at her slit, with her slit growing wet as heat built between them. His weight sunk into her as she felt his sadness grow, desperate to try and feel something that could bring pleasure. To her his weight was welcome, the even pressure from his body helped her feel secure and protected, something she couldn’t get enough of in that moment and found herself clawing at him. Very gently he pulled back a little and inserted himself into her as she gasped, he placed his cheek by hers. Slowly he began to thrust into her, being mindful of what had just happened and what they had just been through.

His arm wrapped around her head with his hand resting at the top while the other was underneath her squeezing her to him. The pleasure coming from his thrusts was the only thing she wanted to focus on in that moment, clawing at him to try and make every sensation last and all the pain and hurt go away. Their breaths grew heavy as the heat built up between them and his pace quickened. She could feel… They quietly exchanged I love yous between breaths and turned to each other for a quick kiss. Their lips lingered, brushing against each other as he moved up and down with each thrust.

Her eyes rolled back as small quiet moans escaped, her face mixed between that of pleasure and anguish. Studying his face, she could see his brows furrowed, mouth agape letting out grunts, and his eye welling up with a tear. She quickly wiped the tear away and leaned in for another kiss, leaving her hand on his cheek. They both felt themselves getting close as their muscles tensed against each other, trying to make every ounce of pleasure last for as long as possible, scared to go back to the reality that awaited them.

As they climaxed he collapsed fully onto her as their muscles released. He tried to separate himself, but she clung to him, not ready to let go. With the comfort her touch brought him, he didn’t resist and stayed with her, sliding his arms underneath her to match her embrace. He pushed off so they could roll on their side and face each other.

She placed a hand on his cheek and brushed the hair back from his closed eye. “I’m so sorry…”

“Shhhhhhh…” He cooed shaking his head before placing a kiss on her forehead. “ _ I’m _ sorry.”

“No... No…” She cooed back, shaking her head and kissing his nose.

They both held each other weeping quietly until they drifted off into sleep.

* * *

The next morning when she woke, Kakashi was nowhere to be found. Instead she found a letter on his pillow.

_ Kessho, _

_ I’m sorry, I got pulled off into another mission. Lady Tsunade says to take as much time as you need. I’m sorry about the tea… I had already made it by the time I realized… I don’t know when I’ll be back. _

_ Kakashi _

There was cold ginger tea on the nightstand. She broke down first thing in the morning, rolled over and pulled the covers over her head, hiding herself from the outside world.

* * *

Some amount of days passed, she wasn’t counting, when she woke up one morning. She felt a warmth against her back, when she turned, she saw her silver haired man’s body resting beside her. Reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder, only to have it be shrugged off. Pulling her arm to her chest, she could feel herself growing upset.  _ Maybe it was a hard mission? Maybe he just needs time? _

He got up and got dressed, to then walk to the kitchen. Still in shock from his reaction, she stayed laying in bed listening to the clamouring.  _ Maybe it was an accident? _ Sure that that’s all it was, she walked over to the kitchen and leaned on the counter. “I’m glad you’re home.” She confessed quietly.

Silence.

He continued on with his food to the table where he sat down to eat. “I’m kind of surprised Lady Tsunade assigned one to you so soon like that…” She tried to make him say something, but not a single word was uttered. Observing his face, she saw that he was looking past her when he stole glances. He looked tired, and his face dead. It broke her to see him like this… And she knew how he felt. He slid back into the numbness, the trying not to feel, because the ability to feel was far too overwhelming. The longer you put it off, the scarier the idea of letting yourself feel again became… That’s why she had chosen to try to feel. To mope, to bathe in her sadness… To blame herself, feel the guilt that she felt.

He placed his dishes in the sink and headed for the door. “I’m sorry…” She whispered and he stopped dead before the door. The power those words had to make him stop quickly dissipated as he left the apartment.

She put the food away and cleaned up after him. After getting dressed and putting on her cloak, she decided to leave the apartment for the first time. Walking to a liquor store, she bought a bottle of whiskey and walked to the Yamanaka flower shop. When she got there Ino greeted her, ever so chipper. “Do you have a cherry blossom sapling…?” She mumbled.

“Yes we have one, but you’re going to want to get a clear tarp to cover it with, and hold it down with some rocks. Are you sure you still want it?” Ino asked. She nodded, and grabbed the tarp and sapling while Ino rung her up. “Are you ok Kessho-sensei? We’ve been missing you during training.” Ino commented.

“I’m fine, just enjoying a little vacation is all.” She gave Ino her best fake smile before leaving the shop. With her things in hand, she walked to her house. When she got there she found a spot a bit further out from her tea garden and placed the sapling and tarp down. Walking into her shed, she pulled out a shovel before opening the bottle of whiskey and taking a swig. Dragging the shovel to where the sapling was, she took another swig of her whiskey.

After placing the whiskey bottle on the ground, she began to dig a hole as snow began to fall from the sky.

“Great… Just what I fucking needed!” She yelled out to the sky. Grumbling she grabbed the bottle of whiskey and took another swig before placing it back down and continuing to dig her hole. Once the hole was sufficiently deep, she reached over to the sapling, peeled it out of the pot, and placed it in the hole, adjusting the soil around it.

With the bottle of whiskey in hand, she began looking for rocks while taking the occasional swig. When she found a rock she liked, she would toss them towards the sapling, not really caring where it hit. When she counted 8 or so rocks, she walked back over to the tree, covered it with the tarp, and held the tarp down with rocks and sat in front of it. 

She stared at the tarp for a long time, letting the snow drench her hair that was tied up above her head in a messy bun. The shivering from the cold snapped her out of her daze as she got back up and dragged the shovel only to toss it into the shed. Leaving her home, she went with the whiskey bottle in hand and stopped at Ichiraku Ramen. She was relieved it was empty… unsure of how she would handle having to face someone else she knew right then. Hiding the bottle between her legs when she took a seat, she ordered some ramen and beer.

Once she finished, she paid and headed back to Kakashi’s apartment.

The next amount of time that she couldn’t keep track of continued to consist of her making the attempt to talk to Kakashi, and Kakashi being too numb and busy with missions to notice/care. Her silver haired man was no longer man… Just zombie… A husk of what once was.


	41. Bye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> I mean who does this bitch think she is always assigning him missions?! He deserves to grieve too! I mean we need to grieve together! Not just me! She was fuming as she was reaching the Hokage’s office and nearly kicked in the door had it not already been open, so she settled on slamming it behind her.
> 
> “Kessho-!”
> 
> “I get that you’re the Hokage and all, but seriously do you not have a heart! Sending Kakashi on missions starting the day after my miscarriage?! How dare you!” She slammed her fist on the Hokage’s desk in fury. “He deserves to grieve just as much as I do, in fact I need him to grieve with me so please, stop sending him on missions!”

_I mean who does this bitch think she is always assigning him missions?! He deserves to grieve too! I mean we need to grieve together! Not just me!_ She was fuming as she was reaching the Hokage’s office and felt like kicking in the door had it not already been open, so she settled on slamming it behind her.

“Kessho-!”

“I get that you’re the Hokage and all, but seriously do you not have a heart?! Sending Kakashi on missions starting the day after my miscarriage?! How dare you!” She slammed her fist on the Hokage’s desk in fury. “He deserves to grieve just as much as I do, in fact I need him to grieve with me so please, stop sending him on missions!”

“Kessho! He asked for those missions. That’s why they were short… He told me he spoke to you about it, and that you were fine with it.” Lady Tsunade told her calmly while studying her. “Although I see now that wasn’t the case…”

“I-I’m so so-sorry… I-…” She started to stumble backwards towards the door. “I-I have to go…” And she ran out as quickly as her feet could take her with tears streaming down her cheeks. The streets were icy from the snow and people walking over it constantly. Slipping to the ground, she slammed her fist in frustration. Quickly she got back up and began running into the nearest bar. After ordering a bottle of sake, she took a seat at the bar.

She took shot, after shot, after shot until the bottle was finished. Paying the bartender she stumbled out to the nearest liquor store. When she got there, she grabbed a bottle of whiskey, and a pack of the cigarettes Asuma smokes. With items in hand she began to make her way to Asuma’s.

* * *

“ASUMA!” She shouted banging at the door. The door opened some to reveal Asuma shirtless, surprised to see her. “Asuma! I brought whiskey and a pack of smokes for you.” She told him while pushing her way into his apartment and tossing him the pack of smokes which he barely caught.

“Kessho, what are you doing here? Why are you drunk?” He asked while she sat on his couch.

“Oh you haven’t heard? I guess they really do protect medical privacy… I lost my baby, so I can drink now. Woooo!” She exclaimed while raising up the bottle of whiskey.

“Uh-Huh…" He told her while studying her behavior. "Ok, excuse me a moment.” Asuma told her while holding up a finger before he shuffled off somewhere behind the couch.

“That’s fine, I’ll just start partying without you.” She slurred before taking a swig. Suddenly Kurenai appeared as she was being led to the door by Asuma. “Oh… I’m sorry I didn’t know you had company…” She told them while getting up.

“No, no… Kessho… It’s ok… Feel better.” Kurenai reassured her before leaving. She sat back down onto the couch.

“I’m sorry for cockblocking you man… I didn’t know.” She told him, feeling guilty as she sat with one foot on the couch, holding onto her leg. He pulled out two cigarettes, one for him and one for her. She took hers and waited for him to light it.

“So what happened?” He asked leaning into the couch. She shrugged and took a long drag.

“Spontaneous Incomplete Abortion.” She told him dead-panned. “It’s where part of the fetus gets rejected out and the other part has to be removed with surgery.”

“That’s…. Heavy.” He told her.

“Yup…” She stared past the wall before her, zoning out.

“How’s Kakashi?” Asuma asked, hearing his name sent a couple tears leaking from her eyes. Still in her daze, she took another long drag.

“I don’t know…” She told him.

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “He hasn’t spoken to me since the day it happened… He’s been on nonstop missions and I just found out today he was requesting them the entire time. When he is home, he won’t talk to me… He won’t even let me touch him…” She snapped out of her daze tears no longer being held back. “He won’t even look at me… He just looks past me…” She quickly grabbed the whiskey and took a swig before flicking the ashes into the ashtray on the coffee table.

“I’ve seen that Kakashi before… Last time he was like that was when he was in the Anbu.” Asuma told her with his head resting on the couch staring at the ceiling.

“What do I do…?” She asked, pleading for something, anything to get the man she loved back.

“Honestly Kessho, I don’t know… He was really unresponsive back then… We just tried to be there for him but he kept wanting to suffer alone in silence. I’d just focus on yourself right now.” Asuma advised.

“What if he blames me…?” She whispered.

“What?! No… He doesn’t blame you. What on Earth would make you say that?” Asuma asked watching her now with worry.

“I didn’t want it Asuma… I thought that we wouldn’t be able to have it… I thought that I wasn’t ready, I thought that I wouldn’t be a good mom, I thought that I wouldn’t like it, I thought that I wouldn’t love it. What if it died because I didn’t love it enough Asuma? I ran out when they first told me, Kakashi knew I hesitated… What if he blames me for not loving our baby enough?” She cried. Asuma was speechless. She could feel the tears gushing as Asuma took their cigarettes and placed them on the ashtray before pulling her into a hug.

“I doubt he thinks any of those things. Knowing him, he’s probably blaming himself.” Asuma told her quietly. She shook her head pulling away.

“It’s not his fault though. I don’t want him to blame himself.” She started lightly chewing on the pad of her thumb.

“That’s just who he is… Carrying everyone’s burdens unto himself….” Asuma took a swig of the whiskey before picking his cigarette back up. “When did this happen?”

“December 6th.” She mumbled, still chewing her thumb.

“Kessho it’s January… January 21st… Have you been eating?” Asuma asked, she shrugged going into a daze again. “I’m going to go down stairs and go get some food. You look like you haven’t been eating.” Asuma told her as he got up and disappeared behind her. She grabbed the cigarette and took a small drag from what was left of it while Asuma left.

In her daze, she continued to chew her thumb staring past the wall with thoughts racing consisting of what she could’ve done differently to prevent the miscarriage. Before she knew it, Asuma was back with food. They sat in silence while they ate.

She grabbed the packet of cigarettes on the coffee table, pulled one out, grabbed his lighter and lit it. Taking a long drag, she placed her elbows on the top of the couch. “This is the worst fucking vacation I’ve ever had.” She contemplated while Asuma let out a chuckle.

“Maybe you just need to go fuck some shit up.” Asuma suggested lighting his own cigarette.

“Maybe I should go on my own missions…” She whispered.

“No, uh-uh. You can’t expect to get over this by going back and disassociating the way you do.” He warned, narrowing his eyes at her while taking a drag.

“Why not?” She furrowed her brows. “It was so much easier back then… Nothing to worry about except the mission at hand.” Her mind wandered as she started to miss being numb and her simpler existence.

“What a sad fucking existence. No love, excitement, passion, empathy… I’m not letting you slip into that. You deserve a happy existence, Kessho.”

Hearing that last sentence… It snapped her back to reality again. _I do… Don’t I?_

“What do I do about Kakashi…? I can’t just… He’s so distant…”

“For that one… I honestly don’t know Kessho… How about we take your mind off of things? We got all this whiskey and it’s not going to drink itself.” Asuma handed her the bottle and she took a swig as he turned on the TV.

She found herself the next morning passed out on Asuma’s couch. Quietly she wandered off back to Kakashi’s apartment.

When she got there, she changed into her shinobi uniform and headed to the Hokage’s office. Before she walked in, she saw Kakashi was leaving and walking towards her. Without thinking she grabbed onto his hand as he walked past, but he just broke free and continued on. She walked into the office and faced Lady Tsunade.

“I’d like to be put on a mission.” She requested.

“Good. I have the perfect one for you.” The Hokage told her. “You’ll go to one of Orochimaru’s hideouts that you haven’t explored. You’ll remain in stealth and you have two weeks to explore as much as you can before reporting back.”

“And if Orochimaru and Sasuke are there? What should I do then?” She asked.

“You are not to engage. You report back immediately their location and we will take it from there.” Lady Tsunade instructed. She nodded and left making her way back to Kakashi’s apartment, where her mask and Anbu uniform were. Her heart ached at the idea of seeing him again, but hopefully he would be gone by the time she got there.

But a hope is just a hope, as she found her facing him while he was seated at the table eating away. Without taking his eyes off of his food, he finally spoke to her, “Can you stop having the dogs sleep on the bed? It’s starting to smell like them.”

Whatever hope that was there was now gone. “Not a problem. I won’t be here.” She answered coldly while walking to the bedroom and changing into her Anbu uniform and put on her mask. Allowing herself one last glance, she peered over the door frame, his face still buried in his food. She knew he was hurting… But she couldn’t help him if he didn’t let her… And she was hurting herself… Asuma was right, she needed to take care of herself.

With that, she flickered out and off into the forest, making her way to the hideout she saw Sasuke and Kabuto disappear into. 

* * *

When she got there she began to explore. It resulted in much of the same as her last mission, only this time there were other people carrying out experiments. There was no sign of Orochimaru, Sasuke, or Kabuto. Mostly, she tried her best to make a layout of the hideout, and write down any research to report back to Lady Tsunade.

The one interesting thing she found was something called the “Dead Demon Consuming Seal.” It was a way to seal away the souls of three entities in exchange for your own. It could also seal away reanimations, which was a whole other jutsu she learned about while there. After the two weeks, she returned back to Konoha. When she got to Kakashi’s apartment, she noticed he was in the kitchen, but instead she wrote her report quietly and went to turn it into the Hokage.

“This research is useful. I know it might not seem like it, but it does give us a look into their arsenal and allows us to plan counter attacks. I want your next mission to be the same for the other hideout. You may take a few days rest if needed to replenish your chakra before heading out.” Lady Tsunade encouraged her. She bowed and headed to her office on the first floor of the building to get a duffle bag before heading back to Kakashi’s.

When she got there she tossed the duffle bag under the dresser and headed into the shower. She placed her mask on the counter by the sink and stared at it for a moment. Without realizing it, she had felt more herself wearing that mask than she had for a long time. Getting into the shower, she washed off the grime of the forest. By the time she got out, Kakashi was already in bed.

 _One more try…_ She told herself. When she got into his bed, she tried to place her arm around him, but he turned away. Something in her snapped then… The constant rejection got to her. Without another thought, she got out of bed, tossed her things into the duffle bag, and got dressed. She tossed in her clothes, her books, her novels, her research, her copies of Icha Icha, and everything she could think of. The only things that were left were… The two letters that were still on the nightstand. The first one was warm and filled with love and dreams of the life they wanted together, the next was cold and curt. After hesitating, she took both and slid them into her pocket and replaced them with the key to his apartment. After grabbing the duffle bag, she placed it on the couch and put on her cloak. She took one last glance into the bedroom, seeing his body lying there. _Bye…_ She grabbed her duffle bag and headed back to her house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love writing Kessho and Asuma and their moments together. It's one of my favorite things. I hope it's as enjoyable to read as it is to write.


	42. Cherry Blossoms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> “Ino and Sakura want to set me up on a blind date.” He told her before finishing his tea.
> 
> “Maybe we should let them…” His eyes grew wide at her words and his brows furrowed. The breeze blew at her baby hairs and they began to dance.
> 
> “You too?” He asked and she nodded.
> 
> “Maybe we need some time apart before we can figure things out between us…” She contemplated. Grabbing his mug, she stood up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm sorry for the cringe that comes along with including a song and lyrics into this chapter, but I couldn't help it. This song makes me feel things when I'm missing my mom, so it just felt right to put in.  
> Here's the song:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2fezyjs_aY
> 
> Also if you're interested in the song that I listened to to help me write this chapter, here's that song:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK7A74ogglQ

A month had passed and she had spent most of it exploring Orochimaru’s hideouts, but now she found herself laying down on top of the rocks that lead down to the waterfall in their spot. She was staring up at the stars enjoying the warmth from the spring breeze as the snow and ice slowly melted away from Konoha. There was still an emptiness she felt, but she was starting to feel life returning to normal… Her normal.

“Have I made you cross?

Have I made you sad?

Have I made you proud, oh Mom?” She sang to herself thinking how big her stomach would’ve been by now if things had been different. There was a rustle, but that didn’t stop her from singing…

“Will I ever know,

How white is snow?

Does it matter after all?

Will I ever learn,

How to fly like birds?” He sprang up to the rocks, she sat up and wrapped her arms around her legs facing away from him.

“Kessho…” He whispered, sitting down behind her, she could slowly feel his back resting against hers.

“Now you want to talk?” She hissed feeling anger boiling up in her gut. _Months of silence… After something like that???_

“You left…” He stated, not saying anything more.

“What did you expect me to do? You wouldn’t talk to me… You wouldn’t even look at me.” She could feel the tears coming already.

“You remind me of her…” He whispered. _Her…_ She thought while blinking away tears. Silence fell between them.

After racing thoughts thoughts she tried to avoid, thoughts that she was working so hard to free herself from, she finally found the courage to ask, “Do you blame me…?”

He didn’t answer, and her heart wrenched. Her breathing grew labored and she felt herself begin to shake as she felt her worst fears coming true.

“I blame myself too… Don’t you blame me?” His voice cracked.

“No… It was incomplete abortion, that means that as soon as I started bleeding, it was over… It wouldn’t have mattered if you were there or not.” She explained coldly and logically. 

“But you had to have blamed me at some point to come up with that…” He pointed out. Silence fell between them. He was right… She needed to blame someone to try and make sense of it all, and one of the thoughts she had was him… But to her, it made more sense to blame herself.

“It wasn’t your fault we lost it.” She tried to reassure him.

“You keep calling her an it.” He snapped.

“I thought it was a boy… Little baby Obito…” She leaned her head back until it touched his.

“Obito…” He whispered leaning his head back against hers. 

He had no other response, so she felt the need to ask, “Did you think I didn’t care?”

“You never talked about it… Or seemed excited…” He admitted.

“I was scared…” She whispered. “I never thought I’d have a life like that… Ever… So when I found out I might be allowed to… I-“

“Didn’t want to get your hopes up?” He finished. Tears were streaming freely and she found herself cursing internally at her ineptitude to hold them back.

“Yea…” Silence fell between them again.

“What were you singing?” He questioned. She hesitated to answer. There was a long silence before she spoke but he waited patiently.

“My uncle told me that it was the lullaby my mom was going to sing to me… I sing it whenever I want to feel close to her.” She finally explained.

“Sing it to me.” He asked quickly. She hesitated again. “Please.” He pleaded.

She let her hair down from a bun and put it up in a ponytail, such as was traditional of the Yamanakas. Quietly she began to sing.

“Have I made you cross?

Have I made you sad?

Have I made you proud, oh Mom

Will I ever know,

How white is snow?

Does it matter after all?

Will I ever learn,

How to fly like birds?

Maybe in an hour,

In a day

In a week

In a thousand weeks,

In a year

Ina million years,

Are you going to school?

Are you far from home?

Are you well alone, Dad?

Will I be a brave?

Will I be a bright?

Will I be a good, grown-up?”

She could feel him turn to her and rest his head on her shoulder, she allowed herself to turn to sit with him side by side, with her arms still wrapped around her legs.. He had removed his mask and she felt the closest she had been to him since that night.

“I can’t lose you too.” He whispered as a tear fell down his cheek.

“Kakashi I-“

“Please” He begged. She stood up abruptly.

“I need time… I-“ She saw the heartache in his eyes but she knew she needed to think about herself too, so... She ran. This time she didn’t race amongst the trees, she ran on foot. She could feel as her tears dried from the wind she was making as she ran as fast as her body would take her. When she got to her house, she ran inside and grabbed the teddy bear that she had originally bought for baby Obito and squeezed it as she collapsed.

* * *

In between missions, she would work at the hospital, which is where she found herself the next day. While she was on her break eating lunch, Ino and Sakura approached and sat down at the table. _I smell trouble._

“Hi Kessho-sensei. I hope you don’t mind us joining you.” Ino stated, while she continued eating.

_The quicker I eat, the quicker I can get out of whatever this is._

“So we’ve noticed that you’ve been kind of sad lately…” Sakura commented.

“And were thinking, what’s something that makes everyone happy?” Ino asked.

“Love!” They both exclaimed and she felt herself choke, she coughed some and drank some water.

“So we were thinking-“ Sakura started as she began to eat again.

“Of setting you up on a blind date!” Ino commented, and there she was, choking again.

“We have the perfect guy for you too!” Sakura chimed.

“Please sensei!” Ino pleaded.

“I’ll think about it.” She told them to get them to leave, after all… She didn’t have to stay for long. Just show up and meet them.

“Alright, next week then!” Ino exclaimed.

 _Maybe I’ll get called into a mission. Oops sorry can’t make it._ She convinced herself.

* * *

The next few days were uneventful as she continued working at the hospital. She looked over the next patient on her list.

 _Hatake Kakashi, fucking great._ Ino and Sakura ran out of the room he was in, giggling. _Weirdos._ As she walked into the room, she sighed. He was battered but mostly fine, save for a gash on his inner thigh. She sat on the adjustable stool and scooted up to his leg, pulling back the blanket to reveal the gash.

“You got lucky… It almost hit your femoral. You could’ve died…” She warned him.

“Can we talk… please?” Kakashi asked her.

“Not here and not now.” She instructed as she began performing her medical ninjutsu. He rested his head back against the pillow and stared at the ceiling. “How’s the pain?” She asked.

“Fine. When can we talk then?” He mumbled.

“I’ll let you know. You’re good to go. The nurse will bring you the discharge papers.” She told him as she left the room. Making sure she wasn’t being watched, she rushed into a supply closet and sunk down behind the door. After having a moment to herself, she continued on treating patients for the rest of the day. When she got home, exhausted, she took a quick shower and went to bed.

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

_Who the fuck is knocking on my door?_ She got up half asleep and opened her door to see a drunken Kakashi.

“Why are you drunk….?” She asked.

“Well I took a page out of your book to see if it would make me feel better. I do feel a little better…. More… Brave…? Anyways, I still love you and I’m going to fight for you!” He shouted as he stumbled inside.

“You’re drunk and it’s late, we aren’t talking about this now.” She grumbled pushing him to the bedroom. After tucking him in, she grabbed a cup of water and placed it by the nightstand. Reaching into her closet, she grabbed a blanket and pillow, and the futon and dragged them out to the living room. Just as she laid down, Kakashi came back out holding the teddy bear.

“What is this?” He asked with a much more serious tone in comparison to the one he arrived with. She quickly got up and grabbed it from him before getting back into bed.

“I’ll explain in the morning. Now go back to bed.” She demanded. After a moment, he stumbled back into the bed and she fell asleep.

The next morning, she woke up and made some tea for the two of them, making some matcha tea for Kakashi and some chamomile for herself. Once she placed the matcha tea by the nightstand he woke up.

“Thanks.” He said while sitting up. “I’m sorry for coming over like this…” He told her trying to hide his face with the mug.

“It’s ok… Come on.” She told him while getting up, “There’s something I want to show you.”

She walked out into the yard with her tea as he followed behind. Walking up to the tarp, she handed him her mug while he stood and watched. She removed the tarp, folded it, and placed the rocks on the tarp off to the side. Turning back to Kakashi, she grabbed her mug and sipped her tea.

“What is it…?” He asked.

“I planted it shortly after it happened… There was no body to bury, but I still wanted someplace to mourn… So I planted a cherry blossom.” She turned to him. “No matter what happens between us, you are always welcome here. This is our tree.” She sat down before it.

“It’s beautiful…” He sat next to her cross legged. “And the bear…?”

“It was for the baby…” She whispered. “This whole time… You really thought I didn’t care…?” She cried softly with her voice cracking as she spoke while actually facing him. He stayed quiet sipping his tea. “How much pain should I have shown on my face before you listened to a word?”

“I…” He let the and his hands rest on his lap as he looked down. “I’m sorry… I was so busy feeling my own pain that... I never even noticed you were hurting too…” He was refusing to meet her gaze so she turned to the sapling, wiped her tears, and started sipping her tea. 

In the corner of her eye, she could see him take out a little baby onesie, and on it was the Hatake clan symbol. “I had this made… I was carrying it around with me.” She put down the mug and held the onesie in her hands as she felt a tear roll down her check. He pulled out a little ring box, “I was going to give you this too, I wanted to do right by you.” She inched away when she saw the box and handed him the onesie before scooting over from him spilling her tea behind her.

“I ca-can’t…” She stuttered between crying gasps. She knew his heart dropped as he put away the ring. After calming herself she grabbed the empty mug and placed it on her lap. They stayed silent for a while, feeling the warm breeze staring at the sapling.

“Ino and Sakura want to set me up on a blind date.” He told her before finishing his tea.

“Maybe we should let them…” His eyes grew wide at her words and his brows furrowed. The breeze blew at her baby hairs and they began to dance.

“You too?” He asked and she nodded.

“Maybe we need some time apart before we can figure things out between us…” She contemplated. Grabbing his mug, she stood up.

“I can’t lose you too…” He repeated.

She rested her hand on his shoulder before responding, “I don’t know if you’ll ever really lose me…”


	43. Third First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> “Yeah yeah, and you’re facing the door which is great because he wants to face away from everything.” Ino reiterated as she continued to lead her into the restaurant. “Now don’t say anything until the waitress tells you to remove your blindfold.” Ino instructed while she pouted but followed instructions. Sakura came by with the date and instructed the same. Shortly after she heard both of them giggle as they left. The waitress came by and told them they could remove their blindfolds.
> 
> When she took hers off she looked down, fixing the mess the blindfold had done on her mascara.
> 
> “Kessho…” She heard him say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's my birthday today and I wanted to upload these series of chapters because I wanted you all to experience my roller coaster.

_ Kimono or Yukata, Kimono or Yukata, Kimono or Yukata… I hate blind dates… Why did I let them convince me this was a good idea? And then Anko getting involved too… UGhhhh… I’m just going to go with my red Kimono. _

She wore her red kimono with the white lotus flower on the back and paired it with her red obi. This time she placed her hair into three rolls at the nape of her neck and adorned them with a white lotus pin. After doing her makeup she headed out to find Ino on her doorstep.

“How did you find out where I lived?” She asked.

“Hospital files…” Ino smiled.

“If you tell anyone. I will stop training you.” She threatened. Ino began to blindfold her. “What-“

“It’s all a surprise!” Ino giggled.

She grumbled the whole way there while Ino scolded her telling her how grateful she should be to have such thoughtful students. “Ok you better place me at the corner of the restaurant!” She grumbled.

“Yeah yeah, and you’re facing the door which is great because he wants to face away from everything.” Ino reiterated as she continued to lead her into the restaurant. “Now don’t say anything until the waitress tells you to remove your blindfold.” Ino instructed while she pouted but followed instructions. Sakura came by with the date and instructed the same. Shortly after she heard both of them giggle as they left. The waitress came by and told them they could remove their blindfolds.

When she took hers off she looked down, fixing the mess the blindfold had done on her mascara.

“Kessho…” She heard  _ him _ say.

“Kakashi…” She said as she stared into the eye of her silver haired man. Her instincts told her to run, but as she grabbed onto the table to get up, he placed his hand on hers. His warm touch and the safety she felt from it made her sit back down.

“We started over before… We can do it again, just please let me…” He beseeched.

“It just hurt…” She struggled to get the words past the lump in her throat. “It hurt that you could think of me that way… That I never cared… But… I guess I let you…”

He shook his head and furrowed his brow, “What do you mean you let me?”

“You were right… I never talked to you about the things I saw… how I saw myself holding his hand, you on the other side, swinging him on our way to the park… How I thought about adding on a few extra rooms to the house at once… In case we wanted him to have siblings… How I pictured us painting the room and I kept hitting my big belly against the wet paint because I’m not used to it… and then you teasing me about it.” A tear threatened to fall, but he wiped it before it could.

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this?” He questioned with his head tilted.

“I was afraid if I did… it wouldn’t happen… That it would all slip away, but maybe if I had, we could’ve- The baby wouldn’t have-“

“No…. Shhhhh…” He was trying his best to catch the tears before they fell and with his other hand rubbing soothing circles in her palm with his thumb. She leaned into his hand. “I’m sorry I treated you so coldly… I shouldn’t have been so naïve to think that something you carried, something that was growing inside you, wouldn’t have caused you pain. I hope that one day you can forgive me for that.”

“Sounds like we both need time…” She smiled, catching the last of her tears herself.

“It would seem so…” He agreed. Now that she was no longer shaken up by the surprise of his presence, she took a moment to  _ really _ look at him. He was wearing a plain black button up, buttoned correctly this time, minus the last button undone. He was wearing an undershirt that had a mask attached, and his hair was styled to cover his scarred eye. “You had to have known it would be me to wear that tonight…” He teased.

“I didn’t! I swear… Although now I’m glad I went with this instead of the purple kimono.” She flirted.

“There’s more?” He asked, his eye lighting up.

“Of course, there is! Have you not seen the size of my closet?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Honestly, no… I peered into it once and there was so much in there I just never looked again.” He admitted.

The waitress brought over a bottle of sake and an assortment of sushi for them. “The sake is courtesy of Anko, and the food from the two younger girls. Everything has been taken care of. Enjoy!” she told them both before leaving.

“I never thought I’d say this… but… I’ll have to thank Anko for getting involved.” She confessed.

“Don’t…” His eye widened and he grabbed her wrist. “She’ll never leave us alone.” 

“Alright, alright…” She chuckled. “Let’s dig in, I’m starving.” She smiled, grabbing a piece of sushi.

They both ate and drank enjoying small talk about his missions and her working at the hospital. By the time they were done, they were both a bit buzzed.

“Let’s go for a walk.” She suggested with a smile growing on her face as she was enjoying the moment.

“You know if we do that, they’re going to follow us, right?” He warned her.

“I don’t care if you don’t” She shrugged. He got up and held out his hand.

“Let’s go then.” She took his hand, got up and they left the restaurant. Once they were into the walk, she listened to see where they were being followed from. After listening in, she determined they were too far to hear anything, but still close enough to watch.

“We should be able to talk without them hearing.” She smiled at him and he nodded in agreement.

“Your key is where you left it… Please come get it whenever you’re ready…” He told her quietly.

“In time…” She half smiled. “So… What was her name?” She asked.

“Rin.” He answered simply.

“Rin…?” She hummed feeling the warmth on her cheeks. “I like it… Any meaning behind it?”

“I still haven’t told you about Rin, have I?” He asked, she shook her head. They changed paths for the cemetery. Once they finally got there she listened in to where the spies were at.

“We’re going to have to talk low if you don’t want them to listen in.” She spoke in hushed tones and he nodded. They got to Rin’s grave that had the Konoha leaf painted purple.

He began to tell her about Rin. Rin was the medic on their three manned team. He reminded her that Rin was the one they went to save the day Obito died. How they got close when Obito died, because Obito made him promise to protect her. How she had been captured by the land of water and forced into being made into a jinchuriki. He told her how the land of water planned to use Rin to try to attack the village, and how she jumped in front of him while he was using his chidori resulting in her death. But most of all, how he felt immense guilt for not being able to keep his promise to Obito and protect her.

“Kakashi…” She placed a hand on his cheek and pulled his face down to hers, pressing their foreheads together. “None of that was your fault… You were a kid, you just did the best you could… That’s all that can ever be asked of you and that’s ok.” She knew the words wouldn’t resonate with him, but she tried to tell him anyways. He pulled her into a hug.

“Sometimes I think you’re too kind to me.” He whispers.

“I mean every word I tell you.” She squeezed before parting. “Come here.” She grabbed his hand and led him to a bench. She stood up on the bench, let her hair down, and tilted her head to drape her hair in a way that covers his face. Slowly she pulled down his mask and kissed him. It was the first time they kissed since that night over three months ago. It started as a simple peck, but he placed his hand behind her neck and pulled her in closer. She moved to lace her fingers in his hair as she parted her lips and they tasted each other. He leaned into the kiss more and she tugged lightly at his hair moaning into him.

Their lips parted when they heard one of the spies falling out of the tree. She pressed her forehead against his and smiled while raising his mask. She took the left side of her hair and pinned it back with the lotus pin before jumping down from the bench. “Should we finally catch them?” She asked.

“It only seems fair for making it painstakingly obvious.” He agreed. They both walked over to the spies.

“Seriously Ino, Sakura, you guys could be so much better at this… and at this rate you really should be better at this.” She scolded.

“See I told you they heard us! Why did you push me off?!” Ino shouted at Sakura.

“Well maybe I wouldn’t push you off if you would scooch over, Ino-pig!” Sakura yelled at Ino.

“Well maybe you could see better if half of your face wasn’t forehead, billboard brow!” Ino screamed at Sakura.

“ENOUGH!” She shouted. “Ino, first thing Tuesday morning I’m training you in stealth.”

“Yes!” Ino exclaimed and stuck out her tongue at Sakura.

“Aw Kessho-sensei, can’t you teach me too?” Sakura pleaded.

“Well I’ll admit that you have good chakra control, but really Ino’s skill set is made for reconnaissance. Besides, you have ex-Anbu Kakashi as your sensei, I’m sure he can teach you.” She finished patting Kakashi’s shoulder as she started to walk off.

“Kakashi-sensei will you?” She heard Sakura ask.

“Sorry I’m on a date” He shrugged and pointed at her. “We can talk about this later.” He told Sakura before catching up to her. “Way to leave me hanging.” He told her.

“Well at least you aren’t going to be the one who’s going to be drilled with questions at the hospital tomorrow.” She dreaded.

“Not going to lie, I’m not jealous about that.” He teased.

“Lucky.” She huffed while he laughed. Holding his hand, she leaned slightly against him as they walked. “I’m glad this all happened.” He hummed happily.

“So much for seeing other people” He joked.

“Well I did say I thought you could never truly lose me….” She reminded him.

“What  _ did  _ you mean by that?” He asked.

“I meant that I don’t think… That…” She struggled to find the right words. “No matter what happens… There’s always going to be a part of me that loves you.” She confessed. She was scared, but she peeked from the corner of her eye to see his reaction. His eye was sad, but she swore she could see the edge of his lip curled up underneath his mask. Silence fell between them, and after a while of walking, she asked, “Where are we going?”

“I’m walking you home.” He smiled. “Don’t you recognize your own route home?”

“We’re in the middle of town, we haven’t even passed your apartment yet!” She argued, flustered while he chuckled. Silence fell between them again, and when it did she tried to steal glances. Every once in a while, the glance would bring her pain, and sadness, reminding her of the loss they suffered. Each time she found herself there, she tried her best to remind herself of moving on together from the pain.

After a while of walking in silence, they found themselves in front of the cherry blossom sapling. She leaned into him and he motioned to wrap his arm around her. A while had passed when one of them finally broke silence.

“I’m not ready to leave…” He whispered. She peered up to get a good look of his face. Staring at the cherry blossom sapling, there was a look of solace… One she didn’t want him to break away from yet.

“Wait here.” She instructed. Walking into her house, she reached into the linen closet and pulled out a few blankets and a couple pillows. Once she had a good hold of them, she walked back to Kakashi. “Scooch.” She instructed after handing him all but one blanket. She spread the blanket on the grass before the sapling and motioned for him to lay with her. Once he laid down, she rested her head on his chest.

“This is exactly what I needed…” He told her.

“I figured…” She smiled at him cupping his cheek. Slowly she removed his mask and gave him a small peck before nestling into his chest. He lifted his mask back up and she could feel herself slowly drifting into sleep.


	44. The Foundation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> “The message is well received.” He told her while brushing her hair behind her ear.
> 
> “What do you want me to do?” She asked him while biting the bottom corner of her lip.
> 
> “I want you to make contact…” He whispered in her ear, so she placed her hand on his thigh. “But only to establish a connection.”
> 
> “So you want me to lead you on, but not fully commit.” She asked seductively while lowering his mask and raising her hand higher up his thigh.
> 
> “No commitment at all, just a door open to something in the future… If I decide it so at some later time… Can you handle that?” He asked her. She brushed his lips against his and caressed lightly his girth as it grew.
> 
> “Can you?” She whispered in his ear while peeking at the napkin holder to get a look at the Anbu operative lurking. She heard Kakashi growl in her ear as he grabbed the wrist near his length and held it up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing sexy code is fun.

When she woke up, the sun was starting to rise, and she slowly slid out of Kakashi’s grasp. Walking inside the house, she made some tea for the two of them. When she brought out the tea, he was starting to stir. Slowly he yawned and stretched before getting up, and she handed him the matcha tea.

“Thanks.” He held the tea with both his hands as she re-wrapped the blanket around them both while they huddled underneath.

“After this, I need to leave for the hospital, but you’re welcome to stay as long as you want. Just place the blankets and pillows inside by the door when you’re done.” She smiled.

“You sure you can’t just ignore everything and stay in this makeshift bed with me all day?” He asked with a smile on his face.

“Can you?” She raised her eyebrow.

“Good point.” He sighed. She placed a hand on his neck and began massaging it as he let out a pleasant hum.

Without warning, an Anbu agent appeared before them and handed her a scroll. “For your eyes only.” The agent stated before vanishing.  _ Weird, I don’t usually get sent requests like this…  _ She thought as she opened the scroll.

“What is it?” Kakashi asked, trying to peek at the scroll.

“It’s from Danzo…” She told him as she continued reading the scroll. “He wants to meet with me… Says he was impressed with my skills based on the mission with team Asuma.” She smiled to keep appearances as she knew she was being watched. She closed the scroll. “They’re watching but not listening, so make sure you don’t give yourself away!” She sang.

“I think you underestimate my prior Anbu abilities” He smiled his close eyed smile. “What are you going to do?”

She slowly lowered his mask and kissed him deeply. Partly for appearances, but also she wanted to. There was something between them, a bond that seemed that would be impossible to break. She wasn’t sure where the bond came from, or when it appeared, but she knew this bond… It was like an unbreakable string that would attach their two souls together. When she parted the kiss she pressed her forehead against his and smirked.

“I’m going to ignore it until I get the chance to slip away undetected and inform the Hokage and await further instructions.” She said in a flirtatious manner while tracing a finger along his chest.

“I have a better idea…” He leaned into her ear. “I have to see Lady Tsunade today anyways why don’t I give her a message within my report...” He placed a hand behind her neck and twisted his body towards hers. “And then visit you at the hospital later with a response?”

“If you bring me to lunch to get me away from Ino and Sakura…” She brushed her lips against his. “I think we have ourselves a plan.” She finished with a smirk. He inhaled her into a kiss as she let the scroll fall wayside. Pulling him towards her with her hand around his neck, he got on top to straddle her. Breaking the kiss for a moment she told him in a teasing tone, “Don’t let them see you write the message.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He nibbled her ear. Seeing that the sun had fully risen, she pushed him off abruptly.

“I’m going to be late!” She yelled while grabbing the scroll. “I’m so sorry! I’ll see you later!” She gave an apologetic smile before rushing inside to get changed.

* * *

The day at the hospital was pretty mundane. Nothing out of the ordinary other than being watched from afar by an Anbu agent. Occasionally she would check into the thoughts of the agent, but upon doing so she would encounter a mind block. It wasn’t until her stomach began to growl that she wondered where Kakashi was.

“Kessho-sensei!” She tensed up at Ino’s voice, she had been deliberately careful trying to avoid them for most of the day. Turning to Ino and Sakura, who now had her cornered, she gave a fake smile. “Come have lunch with us so you can tell us all about the date!”

“Yeah! We know it must have gone well enough for you to kiss him!” Sakura teased as she saw Kakashi enter the hospital.

“You’re right, it went so well in fact, that I actually have a lunch date with him.” She told them as she pushed past them both. “So I’ll see you guys later. Bye!” She turned Kakashi around, grabbed him by the arm, and quickly walked out. “Not a moment too soon.” She sighed. “Let’s go someplace lively!”

He hesitated, but then recalled what led to the lunch in the first place. “How about that bar we went to where we played rock, paper, scissors?”

“That sounds perfect!” She beamed, grabbing his arm and walking with him to the bar. When they arrived they sat in the booth furthest to the back, Kakashi sitting facing away from everyone as usual, and this time she sat next to him. 

“You feel like being one of those annoying booth couples?” He asked with curiosity in his voice.

“Well I figured it’s more private this way.” She moved the silver napkin holder to the center of the table to position it to allow for a view of the room behind them. Next, she grabbed a napkin and blew her nose. “Sorry… Allergies.” She told him, slipping the folded napkin into her pocket.

“I must say, it is fascinating to see you in action.” He told her while putting his elbow on the table and resting his chin on his hand.

“Really…? Does my skill turn you on?” She asked seductively.

“I think it kind of does…” He admitted before ordering a beer. “What do you want?”

“Water is fine.” She smiled.

“The message is well received.” He told her while brushing her hair behind her ear.

“What do you want me to do?” She asked him while biting the bottom corner of her lip.

“I want you to make contact…” He whispered in her ear, so she placed her hand on his thigh. “But only to establish a connection.”

“So you want me to lead you on, but not fully commit.” She asked seductively while lowering his mask and raising her hand higher up his thigh.

“No commitment at all, just a door open to something in the future… If I decide it so at some later time… Can you handle that?” He asked her. She brushed his lips against his and caressed lightly his girth as it grew.

“Can you?” She whispered in his ear while peeking at the napkin holder to get a look at the Anbu operative lurking. She heard Kakashi growl in her ear as he grabbed the wrist near his length and held it up.

“Maybe not right now…” He hissed while she bit her bottom lip and smiled.

“Awww… You’re no fun…” She whined retracting her advances, pouting and facing forward.

“Hey…” He took her chin and pushed it so she was meeting his gaze. “As much fun as it is seeing this side of you… And as much of a turn on this is… I want to do this right…” He spoke softly while a smile slowly grew on her face.

“You’re right…” She unfolded her arms from her chest and placed one on his lower thigh while she used the other to read the menu. He lifted his mask to cover his face while he decided what he wanted.

“How long did you stay?” She asked after ordering.

“Probably longer than I should have.” He confessed.

“If it helps you move on… then it doesn’t matter how long…” She told him resting her head on his shoulder.

“I don’t know… I feel like after a while, you start to need food, going to the bathroom, sleep…” He joked which made her laugh. “You know it’s not your fault… Right…?”

She stayed quiet for a while. He put his arm around her and pulled her into him, with his other hand holding her hand that was placed on his thigh. Without looking up at him she finally answered, “I think my brain finally knows… But my heart can’t shake the feeling that there’s something more I could’ve done. And I feel like I’ve failed you… First not being able to bring back Sasuke, then not being able to bear our child…?”

“Hey, hey, hey…” He parted and turned to face her but she was still looking down at the table. He held her face in his hands and brushed her hair back. “You haven’t failed me. You did all that you could, there’s nothing more I can ask from you.” He told her before placing a cheek on her forehead and moving back to the way they were seated before. Silence fell comfortably as she contemplated his words.

“Maybe you should take your own advice.” She joked while poking his stomach. He repeated her words in a mocking fashion before silence fell again. “Seriously though… I’ll try if you will.” She finally said looking up at him. She saw the hesitation in his eye his brows furrowed, unsure in himself. “Kakashi…” She placed a hand on his cheek and he let his face rest on it. “You are worthy of so much more than what you allow yourself.”

“I already allow myself you.” He half smiled.

“You’re worthy of forgiveness…” She tried to tell him as his half smile faded. The waitress came with their food, and he quickly diverted to it as if to prevent himself from dealing with the idea that the words she spoke might be true. They ate together, occasionally bickering as they stole bites of each other’s food, while still enjoying each other’s company.

When they finished they paid, and he leaned in to ask: “So when are you going to give me my message?” He asked seductively. It took her a moment to realize what was happening.

She took his hand and placed it on her inner thigh, “You gave me a deadline for tonight, I figured I’d just ask to meet with you then” she whispered before biting the corner of her lip. He raised his hand a little further up her thigh.

“You should probably bring protection.” He told her while nudging his way with his nose to her ear.

“I always bring protection.” She nibbled at his ear and ran her fingers through his hair. Pulling down his mask with her teeth, she pulled him in for a kiss. Fervently her lips brushed against his causing him to reach further into her thigh. After hearing her let out a quiet moan he parted their lips and he pulled away raising his mask.

“You really are hard to resist, you know that?” Kakashi told her as she got up from the booth while he pulled up his mask.

“Same could be said for you, only I stopped trying to resist.” She teased grabbing his hand after he got up. Kakashi walked her back to the hospital and kissed her cheek goodbye. Knowing Ino and Sakura would be waiting for her, she sent a shadow clone in ahead to lead them away while she got her list of patients to see. Once they were led astray, she merged with the clone and recalled all of the questions they were going to ask her if she ran into them again. It was not pleasant.

Even so she managed to avoid them for the rest of the day. 

* * *

When she got home, the Anbu agent was waiting for her. She approached the agent.

“Your response?” The agent asked in an ominous tone.

“I will meet with Danzo.” She told the operative. He covered her head with a sack, tied her hands behind her back, and took her to the foundation. Once inside the hideout, but still outside the building, they released her wrists and took off the sack covering her face. Danzo was standing before her when she opened her eyes.

“I’m sure you can understand why we must maintain secrecy. I’m sorry if you were uncomfortable with your journey here.” Danzo stated.

“I completely understand Lord Danzo.” She bowed her head.

“Now for verification purposes… I will need to see the tattoo before proceeding.” Danzo insisted. She removed her cropped sweatshirt and removed her mesh shirt underneath to expose the Anbu tattoo on her arm. He took hold of her arm and inspected it. “And this is the injury from that last mission?” He asked and she nodded in response. He squinted his eye to study it closely before nodding and letting go. She quickly got dressed. “You will have to leave your sai here with the guards at the entrance. Along with the pouch containing your kunai and shuriken.”

She hesitated for a moment… That would only leave the senbon tucked in her hair and whatever she could grab if she took off her pants. After contemplating, she nodded and handed her weapons to the guard.

“Hesitation is good. It shows you’re not reckless. Now let us go and discuss things over some tea.” He commented while leading her inside the building. Once they got to a private room, they sat down at a table. “What tea would you like?”

“Lavender if you have it.” She answered. He nodded to the agent who had come in, but they left quickly.

“Now, you have an impressive record, but it seems Hiruzen hid you away for quite some time.” Danzo contemplated.

“I wouldn’t say hidden away… I was just… Very busy with various missions. I’m sure you can understand given your dedication to the village.” She spoke calmly. The agent came back with their tea. She quickly grabbed the cup feeling the warmth in her hand.

“And you’re with Hatake Kakashi?” He questioned.

“Yes, is that going to be a problem?” She asked. Danzo stayed quiet for a moment in contemplation.

“No. I should think not. You two have known each other since childhood yes?” He inquired.

“No, he was two grades above me in the academy, and he was only there a year? I believe? We never interacted before.”

“Not even when you were in the Anbu?” He narrowed his visible eye.

“I kept to myself, I didn’t like people to know who I was. Never made sense to me how people were careless with their identities when things are meant to be covert. Why the questions about Hatake Kakashi?” She interrogated. He contemplated for a moment while sipping his tea.

“He used to work here at the foundation. It was brief, as it was not a good fit, but he’s a dedicated shinobi nonetheless and I can admire that.” He explained. “Your missions were long infiltrations…” Danzo stated as if it was obvious. Truthfully she wasn’t sure what was in the forged documents that Hiruzen wrote. For all she knew Danzo could have read them all and was testing her right now… She knew she needed to shut this down fast.

“We aren’t here to discuss my previous missions, Danzo. You’ve clearly read up on my abilities already, there’s no point in reiterating things, so what do you really want to ask me?” She demanded.

“Hm. Yes. No beating around the bush with you then. Very well, why were you recruited straight into the Anbu so young?” He asked plainly with his face expressionless.

_ Not one to give anything away. I suppose I should expect nothing less from someone running a covert organization.  _ She pondered before putting an expressionless face on herself. “I’m not sure. I suppose they saw something in me worth training. I’m not the youngest after all, if I recall Itachi was quite young when he joined.”

“I see.” Danzo stayed silent, likely debating whether the question he wanted to ask would be answered and whether it was even worth trying. “So you simply served and then what?”

“Lord Third asked me to retire. He said I had done my time, that I should make a new life for myself while I’m still young.” She replied.

“Sounds like him.” He acknowledged before putting down his tea. “I would like to pull you out of retirement. You still seem plenty useful and with the threat of the Akatsuki, I believe your talents would be beneficial. I only regret I had not seen them sooner.”

She took a few sips of her tea before putting it down to answer. “While I am flattered, Lord Danzo, I don’t think I’m well suited right now. You see, I was pregnant and lost the child. I’m still emotional about it and I would hate for my emotions to get in the way of the mission. That’s why I’ve been mostly working at the hospital as I’m sure you know.” Danzo nodded in acknowledgement. She felt slightly disgusted at herself, but only allowed herself to feel so for a moment. This was a mission, she could feel disgusted at using the miscarriage as an excuse later. “That being said, I would hope this offer is open ended, in case I should want to pursue a career with the foundation in the future.”

“I think that should be acceptable. I hope you reconsider working with us soon. Would you like to finish your tea?” He inquired.

“No, I must get back. I have an early morning at the hospital.” She told him while getting up.

“I will have them escort you out.” He said to her. She bowed and followed the Anbu agent who escorted her out of the building. When she got back to the guards, they handed her her weapons and she placed them on her belt. The agents tied her wrists together and placed the covering on her head and left her at her doorstep before removing everything and disappearing. Tired, she went inside, ate dinner, and slept for a new day.


	45. Ino

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> “Well don’t just stand there, warm me up!” She demanded while wrapping one arm underneath her chest as she huddled under his arm up against him. Taking a nice long sip of the hot tea, she felt the warmth as it went down her throat. “I set up a little table by the window so I could watch the sapling while I have my morning tea.”
> 
> “That sounds really nice…” He whispered.
> 
> “I feel less sad when I look at it now… I feel…”
> 
> “Solace…” He finished for her. She nodded. “I don’t think I’m there yet…”
> 
> “Well you’re welcome to tea any morning you want, we can sit by the window and watch it from where it's warm.” She suggested with her lips starting to shiver. He rubbed her arm trying his best to warm her up.

After a couple of days, she told Lady Tsunade about the encounter with Danzo, to which Lady Tsunade was pleased with the results of the encounter. She also managed to avoid Sakura and Ino, but she was starting to wonder whether the effort of avoiding them was worth it. Every morning, she had a habit of looking out the living room window to drink her tea watching the cherry blossom sapling grow, but this morning, she saw someone blocking it. Going back to the kitchen, she pulled out another mug and poured the hot water in. Adding a black tea teabag, she took both mugs and walked out in the oversized shirt and her underwear to bring him some tea.

He was taken by surprise, “You didn’t have to do that, and aren’t you going to be cold?” He asked, looking at her lack of pants.

“Well don’t just stand there, warm me up!” She demanded while wrapping one arm underneath her chest as she huddled under his arm up against him. Taking a nice long sip of the hot tea, she felt the warmth as it went down her throat. “I set up a little table by the window so I could watch the sapling while I have my morning tea.”

“That sounds really nice…” He whispered.

“I feel less sad when I look at it now… I feel…”

“Solace…” He finished for her. She nodded. “I don’t think I’m there yet…”

“Well you’re welcome to tea any morning you want, we can sit by the window and watch it from where it's warm.” She suggested with her lips starting to shiver. He rubbed her arm trying his best to warm her up.

“I think I might take you up on that. Here.” He handed her his mug before swiftly picking her up. “Let's start now.” She giggled. When they got inside, he put her down and she placed both mugs on the table by the window. She curled up on one of the chairs, placing her feet on the small base.

In silence, they both enjoyed their tea while looking out the window staring at the cherry blossom tree.  _ Something that had brought us so close together also almost tore us apart… Strange how something that small could have so much pull over our lives. _

“I imagined him with your hair and my eyes. He also had your cute little mark.” She reached out poking it while half smiling.

Without taking his eyes off of the tree he replied, “I just pictured a little mini you running around outside chasing after butterflies…” The corner of one of his lips curved upwards at the thought, but quickly faded. “That’s why I couldn’t look at you… It was like looking at her.” She stared down at the purple tea in the mug she was holding with both hands and sighed. She felt his hand rest on her wrist, when she looked up his face was inches from hers and his mask was down. “I can look at you now though… I still see her sometimes…” His eye looked away for a moment, “But now mostly I see the woman I fell in love with, and the wonderful mother you would have been.” They leaned in for a kiss, but were stopped by nearly spilling their mugs. He raised her arm and motioned for her to sit on his lap.

Walking around the table, she sat on his lap and he placed an arm around her to hold her up while she placed one around his neck. They leaned in for a peck, this time successfully, and continued to watch the tree while finishing their tea.

Slowly, she got up and went to go get dressed. Once she was dressed she walked behind Kakashi and wrapped her arms around him in a hug with her cheek next to his. “You still have your key?” She asked him and he nodded. “Ok, I have to go train Ino today. You can stay as long as you want, ok?” He held on to her wrist.

“Thank you.” He whispered.

“Of course.” She smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek before she made her way to the door. When she opened she found Ino waiting on her doorstep, which she quickly shut the door behind her to not allow Ino to peer into her house. “Ino please stop showing up at my door.”

“Ok, but I thought maybe we could finally talk about the date on the way to the training grounds and now you have no other excuse!” Ino exclaimed excitedly.

“Alright, you got me, what do you want to know?” She sighed.

“So?! Are you two dating now?” Ino questioned.

“Yes.”

“Did you enjoy the date?”

“Yes, and thank you Ino… It was just what the two of us needed.” She smiled.

“Well I’m glad you two enjoyed it. You’re both so private, and you like those books, and you were both in the Anbu, it just made sense to pair the two of you up. So what’d you two talk about?”

“We talked about the reasons why we were sad. It helped us work through some stuff, having someone to talk to about it…” She explained. Ino nodded as if she understood completely.

“What else, that couldn’t have been all of it…” Ino complained.

“I mean we talked about some of the missions he had been on lately, and some of the stuff I’ve been doing in the hospital, but that was what connected us…” She omitted the part where that’s what connected them  _ again. _

“Why’d you end up at the cemetery?” Ino asked.

“We were talking about people we’ve lost.”  _ Shorter answers, less to ask about  _ she thought.

“I guess when you get to be as old as you two, you lose people on missions, huh?” Ino questioned.

“We aren’t old!” She yelled and Ino chuckled.

“I wasn’t calling you old-“

“You better not!” She threatened.

“So you two did kiss, right?” Ino sang.

“Yes we kissed.” She was not enjoying where this might be headed.

“Is he good???” Ino begged to know.

“I think this is getting a little too personal…” She sighed.

“So he’s that bad then…”

“No, not at all, he’s great, but please stop asking me these types of questions.” She pleaded. They arrived at their usual training grounds and found Asuma training with Choji.

“Alright fiiiiine.” Ino pouted as she waited for her to give her instructions.

“Go practice some taijutsu with Choji for a bit while I talk to Asuma.” She instructed. Ino groaned and went over to Choji.

“So Anko told me about the not-so-blind date.” Asuma told her.

“So then everyone knows…” She corrected while Asuma chuckled.

“Yeah so… How’ve you been? I haven’t seen you around much…” Asuma questioned cautiously while handing her a cigarette and lighting it.

“I’ve been… Well I moved out of Kakashi’s place a month ago.” She informed him.

“Shit… I didn’t realize it got that bad… I’m sorry Kessho, if I had known I-“

“It’s fine… It turns out that might’ve been the wake up call he needed. I went on a mission after my drunken night at your place and when I came back I tried to reach out to him one last time, but he didn’t respond… So I packed my shit and left his key on the nightstand. Around a month later, the dude shows up wanting to talk…” She shrugged.

“How’d that go?” He asked. She took a long drag.

“It was pretty fucking painful… But we sorted through some shit…” She started kicking at the ground. “I found out that he did blame me… At least partly… I realized I tried to blame him… Even if it was only for a few moments… We weren’t ready to forgive each other yet.”

“This sounds like some shit I wouldn’t wish on anyone…” Asuma commented

“Yeah… no…”

“But you guys are doing better now…?” He tried to meet her gaze, eyes full of concern.

“We’re taking it slow… The blind date just helped smooth things over. I don’t think we are quite ready to forgive each other completely yet… But we’re on a good path.” She smiled before taking another drag.

“Good, I’m glad.” Asuma smiled. “So what are you planning on teaching Ino today?”

“Stealth. They were following Kakashi and I on our date and they were terrible at it, so I’m going to help her improve.” They both chuckled.

“Well, have fun with that.” Asuma saluted her as she walked off to Ino.

“Alright, stealth is all about the right chakra control.” She climbed up the tree and sat. “That and patience, absolute stillness.” She sat down cross legged on the tree branch and took a deep drag. “Now focus on the stillness of your body… The less disturbed your body is, the less disturbed your chakra is, and you don’t need to move to be able to watch and listen to what’s going on below.” She spoke before taking another deep drag.

They sat in silence, in absolute stillness for all of about 5 minutes. “How long do we need to do this.” She flicked Ino’s forehead. “Ow! What was that for?!” She flicked Ino’s forehead again.

“Anytime you do anything that would get you detected, you’re getting a head flick!” She shouted and took her last drag. “I’ll have you know my personal record for absolute stillness is about 6 hours and it was because it was what the mission required.” Ino nodded as they continued with absolute stillness.

After about an hour or so, she opened her eyes and quietly spoke “I want you to stay still and stay there. Continue as you are.” She hopped down from the tree and sensed Ino’s chakra. The rate of detection had been reduced immensely compared to as if she were reacting as she normally would. “Alright Ino, drop down.” She instructed. Ino jumped down and walked to her. Grabbing a branch, she drew in the dirt two circles, one much larger than the other. “When you walk around or try to hide normally, this is how big your center of chakra is.” She told her pointing to the larger circle. “Just now, when you were up in that tree, your chakra was like this smaller circle here.”

“Just being still did all of that?” Ino questioned with wonder.

“Yup! Now hiding is important, but you also don’t want to give away your location when you do so. Sure bushes are nice because they surround every part of you, but if your target is already nearby, they’re going to hear you going into the bush, so it’s more beneficial to hide behind the tree or somewhere that’s more open.” Ino nodded. “Another thing is, when meeting with your target, you never send out-“

“Kessho-sensei!” She turned to see Shikamaru yelling her name. “Lady Tsunade has summoned you.” He told her as he approached.

“Sorry Ino… Looks like this will have to wait.” She told her before running off to the Hokage’s office.


	46. Ishii Kawa and Endo Midori

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> “I have an Anbu mission for you.” Lady Tsunade spoke while she locked the door.
> 
> “I’m ready my Lady.” She bowed her head.
> 
> “This one might be difficult, but I trust in your abilities… I’ve read some of the… darker missions you’ve been on.” Lady Tsunade cautioned.
> 
> “As I said, I’m ready.” She reassured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ****TW*****  
> Rape mentions, pedophilia mentions. There's not much in the way of details, but Kessho finally talks about the one mission that gave her the scar on her stomach.

“I have an Anbu mission for you.” Lady Tsunade spoke while she locked the door.

“I’m ready my Lady.” She bowed her head.

“This one might be difficult, but I trust in your abilities… I’ve read some of the…  _ darker _ missions you’ve been on.” Lady Tsunade cautioned.

“As I said, I’m ready.” She reassured.

“There’s a serial killer that’s been travelling around killing young women in their early-mid 20’s. He cuts them until they’re about to bleed out, then he rapes them before he finally kills them. He usually stops at an outpost town, kills a woman there, then proceeds to kill two at a major city. The path of destruction he’s left gives every indication that he’s on his way here next. You are to go to the outpost town and do as you must to take care of him.”

“I understand. I’ll need to see photos of his victims to know what to expect.” She demanded. The Hokage handed her the photos. The young women’s faces were untouched, but nearly every other visible section on their bodies were covered in superficial cuts. Very few would’ve been deep enough to need stitches. The women had long black hair with bangs, and their jaws were narrower than hers.  _ Nothing I can’t mimic with some makeup though.  _ “I’ll prepare to leave tonight as I need to prepare my disguise.”

“I understand, but please do hurry…. And be careful.” Lady Fifth cautioned. She bowed and rushed home.

* * *

When she got home, she pulled out some kimonos and a couple yukatas to pack into a bag. She grabbed a wig that matched the hair in photos and carefully placed it on her head. Next she did her makeup to shape her face to match the women in the photos. After brushing the wig, she got up to get a navy blue yukata covered in morning glories. Once she had her weapons and hid some senbon on her hair she made her way to the door. Before leaving she took a peek at the cherry blossom sapling. Dropping the bag by the door, she ran to her room and grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a letter.

> _ My loving star, _
> 
> _ Please feel free to come in and help yourself to some tea whenever. I have to go on a mission. I don’t know how long I’ll be, but I don’t think it will be more than a month. I know we still aren’t completely ok… But I hope we can pick up where we left off when I get back. I’ll miss you, and I’ll be back as soon as I can. _
> 
> _ Love, _
> 
> _ Kessho _

__

She placed the letter on the table overlooking the sapling and walked out the door.

* * *

Eight days had passed since she had been staying at the inn and going about as someone on vacation in this small outpost town. She had noticed a tall lanky man with bags under his dark green eyes, and messy copper colored hair, following her for the past two days. Still, with her cover she acted completely oblivious to herself being watched as she made small talk with two younger women she was sitting with at the booth. If the man was going to approach her, she needed to lose these two young women, so she said her goodbyes and sat next to an empty seat at the bar. The man calmly approached her, “May I sit here?” He asked quietly, she nodded.

After ordering another of her drink, which was meant to look heavily alcoholic but was actually alcohol free. “So are you from around here?” He asked.

“No, I’m actually here on vacation. I live in Konoha.” She smiled while moving the stool side to side and sipping her drinking.

“Are you enjoying your vacation?” He asked gently. She nodded excitedly.

“I’m Ishii Kawa.” She slurred slightly while putting down her drink.

He leaned over and gave her a little hug before pulling back and introducing himself, “I’m Hiroki.”

She reached over and finished off her drink. “Oops… I think I’ve had too many of theses…” She slurred slightly and giggled. “I’ll be right back.” She walked off and stumbled to the bathroom. When she got into the bathroom she held the sink and struggled to stay standing.  _ Fuck… He drugged my drink.  _ She began fading in and out.

Her arm was around him as she stumbled under his grip. “Nah she’s just had a little too much. It’s not safe, so I’ll take her back to her room.”  _ Ironic _ .

There was forest, they were on the outskirts of the out post town.

There was an abandoned house she was being led to. Correct that, pushed into.

When she finally came back fully, she found herself tied around a post in the middle of the room. There was some give with the legs, likely for him to access later, and her hands were tied behind her back. He was sitting across the room, waiting.

“I thought the Anbu were supposed to be smart…” He teased while circling her naked body. “You’ll be my biggest prize yet. Taking down one of the Anbu that was sent after me to try to stop me…” He let out a devious giggle at the excitement.

_ I need to taunt him to buy time to figure a way out of this… _

He sliced her stomach, letting the knife graze her skin as he continued to circle her.

“So drugging women is the only way you can get them away to do what you want then… Seems smart, but reeks of physical impotence.” She hissed while sending chakra to her hands to try and break free from the rope.

“You can’t escape that way. It’s chakra rope… I’ve never had to use it before now… But you… You’re a pretty exception my dear.” He told her while placing a hand on her cheek which she quickly turned to try and bite at one of his fingers. He barely escaped, but she managed to bite and take off one of the gloves he was wearing. “Oh feisty! Though I suppose I should expect nothing less from the Anbu.”

“So what is it then? You can’t get it up? Having to resort to having a woman tied up and helpless because nobody wanted to sleep with you?” She snapped and narrowed her eyes. A smile grew on her face when she saw his mouth tighten. “That’s it isn’t it? You were so sad and lonely because of your own ineptitude that you needed to tie a woman up so you could even touch her.”

“Shut up!” He sliced the back of her thigh, but she inhaled and let out a low moan.

“Sorry kid, but I’m a bit of a masochist, this kind of thing just turns me on.” She continued to taunt. He placed a deep cut on her arm, which hurt, but she faked a moan anyways. This irked him. He began pacing with the knife held against his head muttering to himself about what he was going to do. This was her chance. “What’s wrong? The women you experienced usually screaming crying out for help by now? Giving you that rush of power of them being helpless and you have all the control? Your dick shrinking?” She mocked as hard as she could mock. Quickly she thought of all the intimate moments between her and Kakashi while the man cut her a few times with some of them being deep gashes, but imagining Kakashi pounding her in that moment… She let out a deep pleasurable groan. “Sorry but all you’re doing is making me wet… Go on… Feel.” She dared.

The man continued to pace as she watched him unravel. While continuing her devious grin, she made the hand sign for a shadow clone and had the shadow clone fight the man. Clenching her left hand into a fist and pulling her thumb, she dislocated her thumb to slide her hand through the chakra rope. Next she began to untie herself while the clone continued to fight. Once she was free, she pulled a senbon out of her wig, sent in through the shadow clone and lodged through the man's eye and hitting his brain.

After shoving her thumb back in places she slid seated to the floor feeling out of breath and drained of chakra… The drug must have drained her some. She used the little she had left to stop the gashes from bleeding, unable to heal them fully.  _ What’s a few more scars anyways… _ Walking over to the man, she crouched down to check his pulse. Dead. After grabbing her yukata and getting dressed, she walked back to the inn. At this point, she just wanted to get to her home. She didn’t care how exhausted she felt physically, she just needed to go home. So after checking out of the inn she made her way home.

It was probably somewhere around 9AM when she walked into town, having removed her wig and washed her makeup off of her face hoping to not run into people who would recognize her. Still she kept making her way back to Kakashi’s apartment hoping that Kakashi was still at his apartment as she knocked on the door. She let out a sigh of relief when she heard shuffling before the door opened.

“Kessho-“ She pushed past him and sat on his couch leaving the bag at the door. Quickly her seated position turned into one that was laying down, and she closed her eyes for a moment.

Or what she thought was a moment. When she woke up, she was wrapped under the covers in Kakashi’s bed and there was a letter waiting for her on the nightstand.

> _ My dearest Kessho, _
> 
> _ I hope it’s ok, but I changed you because your yukata was bloodied and wiped your wounds with a wet cloth to clean them. I’ll be back soon, I just have a few errands to run. I would really like it if you waited for me until I got back, but if you need to go do something that’s ok too… Just let me know you’re ok… Oh and don’t forget your key! Be back soon! _
> 
> _ Love, _
> 
> _ Kakashi. _

__

It looks like she had only slept an hour or two. Getting up slowly, she walked over to Kakashi’s desk and sat down to write her report. Once she was done, she got up, got dressed, and made her way to the Hokage’s office after grabbing her key.

She walked into the Hokage’s office and closed the door behind her. Once she got there, she locked the door behind her and handed Lady Tsunade the report. After reading over it, the Hokage finally spoke. “Excellent. We shall go to recover the body.”

“I’ll need a photo for my bingo book.” She mentioned.

“I’ll have it for you next time you stop by.” Lady Tsunade replied. She bowed her head and headed back to Kakashi’s.

When she arrived Kakashi was setting up to sit down for lunch. “Oh good, you came back.” He smiled. There was BBQ from the place that team Asuma frequents, she inhaled the smell deeply, closed the door behind her and rushed to sit down and eat as she was feeling starved. She scarfed down her food quickly and when she was about half way through Kakashi asked, “So what were you off doing?”

“Just assassinating a serial killer.” She shrugged while continuing to eat. His eye widened a bit but quickly returned to normal, but his chopsticks were beginning to tap the plate whenever he wasn’t using them to eat.

“How’d you draw them out?” He questioned trying to seem casual about it.

_ So that’s what he wants to know… He wants to know how much danger I put myself in.  _ “The only way you can. Ishii Kawa was just his type.” She shrugged again while his tapping grew quicker.

“This Ishii Kawa… One of your… Disguises?” he asked, having stopped eating all together.

“Yup.” She answered while finishing her food. One of the wooden chopsticks snapped.

“Is he dead?” he questioned through gritted teeth.

“Of course he is. I’m capable of completing dangerous missions… Kakashi, this is what I was trained to do.” She placed her hand on his wrist and caressed her thumb in a soothing motion. “This is what we do. I’m more than capable of doing these missions without any issues. Try to relax… I’m fine.” She encouraged.

He stared at her abdomen. “What happened, that mission…? The one that gave you the scar on your stomach…” She recoiled at his question and cleaned up her dishes going into the kitchen.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She answered plainly while washing the dishes.

“You say his name sometimes… When you would stir in your sleep… You say their names. I need to know what happened.” Kakashi tried his best to say calmly while his hands were still clenched in fists with his knuckles turning white.

“If that’s how you reacted to a serial killer, then no… You don’t need to know.” She told him in hushed tones.

“Kessho I-“ She flickered out before he could say anything else and headed back to her house.

_ Why now…? Why is he bringing this up now? Besides, it wasn’t me on that mission… It was Endo Midori. I am Nakano Kessho.  _ She repeated the thoughts until she was home. Once she got there, she took off her weapons and pouches and took another nap. When she woke up, it was dark out.  _ Well that will fuck up my sleep schedule. _

Still shaken up from her conversation with Kakashi earlier, she went out to their spot in hopes he wouldn’t be there. When she got there, she felt the water with her hand and noticed it was warmer than the air that surrounded her so she decided to strip and get in.

The water sent goosebumps on her skin as she slowly felt the water surround her. Laying back slowly, she floated on the water feeling the weight lift off of her shoulders as the silence calmed her when she closed her eyes. There she laid with her eyes closed for quite some time meditating as her limbs floated around her enjoying the warmth the water brought and the contrast from the cool breeze hitting her exposed skin. She sensed a presence approaching. Opening her eyes she stared at the stars, as the moon was new and hiding away while she waited for him to announce her presence to her.

He didn’t say anything, but he got in, at which point she retreated from floating into mostly submerging herself and hiding most of herself underwater, including her mouth while she waited for him to speak.

“Kessho… I’m sorry… I know you’re plenty capable, and I know that’s what we were trained for, but I’m still going to want to try to protect you… It’s just who I am.” Kakashi explained. She raised her mouth above the water.

“I understand that Kakashi… So why do you need to know about the past?” She questioned.

“Because even if they are long gone… They’re still affecting you now… And I want to protect you from any further hurt they may cause…” He whispered while approaching her. He carefully pulled her into him to cradle her, which if she was about to allow herself to be this vulnerable… She would need it.

“Ok.” She whispered. “I’m only going to talk about this once… And then never again.” She warned while he nodded. He kissed her forehead while he waited for her to find the words. “Endo Midori posed as a promiscuous young lady to get the attention of Mitsuo Sato… Which she did, fairly easily. She was taken in and placed in their grasps. She was… Used… Quite a bit… Supposedly to try to gauge her worth but that’s not it, they just liked feeling powerful. They’d put her in a room with the rest of the girls. No bathroom. Just a couple buckets. Didn’t get much food or water…” His visible eye had tears but the rest of his face was emotionless, which she was thankful for… If he had shown emotion, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get through it all.

“The girls ranged from 30’s to… One was 9… But she knew she needed to wait. There would be an auction soon and the ring leader would be there. The ring leader had heard about Endo Midori and how feisty she was… He liked them feisty. He liked to be the one to break their will, so when he heard about her, he wanted to try her out himself. She was in a room alone with him. She hadn’t really fought much before then… Just struggled like any girl would… But when she was alone with the girls she tried to help them. That’s the will he wanted to break. The will to keep going, to live. So when she broke out of her ropes, he got excited. They fought. She struggled because she was weak from having been starved. Eventually the adrenaline kicked in and she overtook him. After hiding herself, she assassinated everyone she saw that did those girls any harm. She left no perpetrator alive. When she got to the girls she made them an offer… She offered to erase their memories of that horrible place.” He cupped her cheek and leaned in to kiss her forehead as he half smiled. She knew how quickly that smile would fade.

“They all wanted their memories erased, and she did so happily, but in order to erase them… What she didn’t tell them… Was that in order to erase them, she has to live through every single one that she was to erase. Live through all of their memories… Feel the things they felt…” She trailed off staring through him and settling into numbness. He pulled her closer and into an embrace and let the silence fall until she was ready to come back to reality.

After what felt like eternity… She came back, and faced him.

“I had no idea… If I had known I never would’ve… We shouldn’t have done what… Kessho I’m so-“ He tried to say but she interrupted.

“I wanted to… I needed to… I needed to regain control… You did nothing wrong.” She reassured him and he nodded.

“I’m sorry…” He whispered. She straightened up, slapped herself in the face a few times, and put on a smile.

“It’s fine, all part of the job, right?” She shrugged.

“Kessho, that’s not healthy…” he told her lowly.

“Kakashi, I love you, but you really aren’t one to talk here.” She countered starting to feel annoyed. He looked down and rubbed his arm.

“You’re right. I just worry.” He claimed while rubbing the back of his neck.

“I know, but I’ll be ok.” She kissed his cheek.

“Let’s head back and try to sleep some.” He suggested, she nodded in agreement before getting out of the water. Kakashi, seeming to have planned ahead, handed her a towel, which she used to dry off. After wrapping the towel around her hair, she got dressed and turned to Kakashi before they both headed off back to her place. Once they arrived, they both tried to sleep through the rest of the night.


	47. Vacation's all I ever wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:   
> When she woke up, the bed was empty. After stretching and scratching her eyes, she groggily got out of bed while yawning. When she stepped out of the bedroom, she saw Kakashi enjoying some tea sitting by the window. Once he heard her leaving the bedroom, he mentioned, “There’s some hot water left on the stove if you want some.”
> 
> “Thanks.” She smiled with lazy eyes. Walking into the kitchen, she poured some hot water into a mug, and added dried chamomile flowers into her tea diffuser. Bringing her tea along with her, she sat across from him and greeted the sapling out the window. “Do you have anything today?”
> 
> “No, I’m free all day.” He answered before taking a sip of his tea.
> 
> “It’s my day off… You’re more than welcome to stay here with me today… If you want that is…” She offered. He finally turned to her and smiled.

When she woke up, the bed was empty. After stretching and scratching her eyes, she groggily got out of bed while yawning. When she stepped out of the bedroom, she saw Kakashi enjoying some tea sitting by the window. Once he heard her leaving the bedroom, he mentioned, “There’s some hot water left on the stove if you want some.”

“Thanks.” She smiled with lazy eyes. Walking into the kitchen, she poured some hot water into a mug, and added dried chamomile flowers into her tea diffuser. Bringing her tea along with her, she sat across from him and greeted the sapling out the window. “Do you have anything today?”

“No, I’m free all day.” He answered before taking a sip of his tea.

“It’s my day off… You’re more than welcome to stay here with me today… If you want that is…” She offered. He finally turned to her and smiled.

“That sounds nice, but there’s still a few errands I have to run.” He gave her an apologetic smile.

“That’s a shame. Well feel free to come over if you change your mind.” She told him before getting up and going off into her room. Walking into her closet, she went through a few silk kimonos and settled on a yellow one with cranes. She draped it around herself before grabbing her latest dirty novel and walking back out to the couch. After placing the novel on the coffee table, she walked back to the table to grab her mug of tea, bending over and reaching down in front of Kakashi.

“Well that’s just cheating.” He teased when he took in the sight of her.

“Why, whatever do you mean?” She mocked while walking over to the couch to sit and read. While she was reading, she suddenly felt a pair of hands on her thighs. Without looking up from her book, she commented, “I thought you had things to do.”

“This is on my list of things to do...” He told her as he spread her legs. His fingers began caressing her thighs inching more inwards as they went along with kisses being planted behind them.

“Is that so?” She asked, still trying to read while she felt her lace panties being slowly pulled off.

“Mhmmm.” She felt him say as his kisses grew dangerously close to her growing wetness. Rather forcefully, he spread her legs further causing her to sit closer to the edge of the couch. Fingers moved her outer lips, spreading them. He licked her from her entrance to her clit, stopping there to suck which caused a gasp to escape. In her stubbornness, to keep up the façade, she continued to try and read, despite not being able to focus and having to reread the same sentence five times. She felt him lapping at her, without putting the book down, she ran her fingers through his hair pushing his face into her as she moaned. With her breathing becoming labored, she finally tossed the book aside, laced her other hand into Kakashi’s hair, and sank her back into the couch while further bucking her hips as she gave into the pleasure his tongue was giving her.

Her legs started trembling but Kakashi pressed his elbows down against them to restrain her. Muscles began to tighten as she could feel herself getting close. Without realizing it, she began holding her breath trying to prolong the pleasure as much as she could as everything built up within her. He slid two fingers into her and quickly began thrusting only to find themselves quickly covered in juices as she came. Loosening her grip on his hair, he looked up to see her catching her breath as a smirk grew on her face. Kakashi moved up onto the couch and straddled her. She looked into his eye that was filled with a lustful desire. Pressing her forehead to his, she reached down to his hardened length rubbing it through his pants.

“Seems like something is in the way…” She teased. Without another word, he stood up and removed both his pants and his boxers before going back to the position he was previously in.

“Better?” He asked.

“Much better.” She agreed as she took his girth and stroked it while rubbing it against her overly sensitive bundle of nerves that had just been stimulated moments ago with his tongue. Every time she passed over it with his tip, she twitched in pleasure. She was toying with him, but he was enjoying every second of it, feeling her body twitch against the hands placed on her thighs. She started to feel a buildup rising within her as her eyes rolled back in her head, that’s when he took it into his own hands and began to slide himself into her, a pleasure she welcomed. After she shifted onto his thighs, she began to ride him while he pulled her into a kiss wrapping his arm around her and coming up to the back of her head, his fingers wrapping into her hair. Their kisses parted as she bounced before him but their lips would brush against each other as she went. Her hands rested on his shoulders as she used them for leverage to push herself up while riding him.

“Get off.” He growled.

“Oh you want control do you?” She teased. “Well then… Take it.” She demanded. He lifted her off and placed her on the side of the couch. Turning to her, he pushed her face into the couch, and pulled her up by the hips before inserting himself into her from behind. “That’s more like it.” He slapped her ass hard, leaving a nice red hand print on it.

“No talking.” He growled as he stuffed her panties into her mouth. She tried to mumble something so he slapped her other cheek equally as hard. Once he heard the muffled moan from her mouth, he started to thrust into her aggressively while pulling and pushing at her hips with an intense vice grip he had on her. He would occasionally slap her between grunts of pleasure. His pace quickened rapidly as their muscles tensed up. The heat between them building they both focused on feeling the sensations, her squeezing him as she reached up to touch herself, starting to feel desperate for release. His groans were getting deeper and she could feel herself getting close. A few thrusts later and her walls began to tighten and close around him as she let out a howling yell while her body spasmed. Kakashi came soon after as he filled her.

He pulled himself out of her and slid to sit down on the couch. After a brief moment she sat up and he put his arm around her and pulled her into him. His breath steadying alongside hers. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat slow back down to a normal pace. “Is it ok if I hop in the shower?” He asked.

“Go ahead and use it. It’s all yours.” She encouraged. He got up and she sank back into the couch picking her book back up. “So do you actually have errands, or was I the only thing on your to-do list?”

He chuckled while making his way to the shower, “There’s other things.” He looked back to her. “But you by far were the most pleasurable.” She smiled at him putting her book down deciding to make some breakfast. Miso soup, and rice with an egg for Kakashi. By the time he was out of the shower, she was nearly done and just letting the soup simmer. He walked over to her while she was serving the rice into bowls, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He grabbed the bowls and placed them on the table while she served the miso soup. After bringing the soup to the table, she quickly ran back to the kitchen to grab the egg for Kakashi and they both sat down for a nice quiet meal.

After they ate, he helped clean up and left. While she was prepping breakfast, she had noticed her fridge looking bare, so she thought it might be a good idea to follow Kakashi’s lead, and go into town to run some errands.

When she got into town she saw Ino running up to her. “Kessho-sensei, Lady Tsunade wants to see you.”

“Did she say what for?” She asked Ino.

“Nope, just to find you and Kakashi and to send you to her. Kakashi should be waiting up there already.” Ino replied. She nodded and headed off to the Hokage’s office.

* * *

When she got to the building she saw Kakashi reading his book, waiting outside. “Do you have any ideas as to what this is about?” She asked him, but he shrugged. They continued on into the building heading to the office to finally figure out what’s going on.

“I have a mission for the both of you.” Lady Tsunade told them.

“The both of us? Like… Together?” She asked in disbelief.

“Yes, the both of you. The Mizukage has requested our help. There’s another serial killer and this time they’re targeting couples who go to one of the islands in the land of water for a vacation. Normally I’d just hand a mission like this to you Kessho, but given the situation… You two will act as newlyweds on a honeymoon to lure them out, and the rest you can decide from there. Kessho, since you’ve never so much as worked in a team before, and given your close call on the last mission, I’m assigning Kakashi as captain.”

“Close call?” Kakashi asked with his brows furrowed looking at her.

“It was hardly a close call Lady Tsunade, I assure you I was in control the entire time. I was just waiting for the right time to break free from the restraints.” She clarified.

“Kakashi will still be captain. Also, here’s the photo for your book.” The Hokage handed her a photo, which she placed in her bingo book to arrange later. “You two will set off now. Here’s the mission info, although there isn’t much on the killer. Make sure to pack for beach weather, and remember that you’ll be dressed as regular people, not shinobi.” They grabbed the mission info, bowed, and made their way out.

“I’ll go pack a bag at my place and meet you at the Konoha gate, sound good?” She suggested picking up her pace to head back to her place.

“Actually…” She stopped to turn back to Kakashi. “Can you help me out a little more…?” He asked coyly while looking down at the ground beneath him.

“Did you not use many disguises in your Anbu days?” She questioned while walking backwards.

“We never went into deep cover the way you did… I’m pretty sure most Anbu don’t.” He explained.

“Huh… Well let’s go then, we have a vacation to get to!” She smiled as she jogged to his apartment. After rushing ahead to his apartment, she ran to his dresser. There wasn’t much in the way of casual clothing, mostly just shirts, a couple of jeans, and the dress clothes. She picked out a few of the shirts and one of the jeans, along with the sole bathing suit he had on him. After packing them into a duffle bag, she added a yukata that didn’t have the Hatake clan symbol on it. By then she heard Kakashi walk into the apartment, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

“There’s not a whole lot…” He chuckled nervously.

“Yeah… I can see that… We might have to stop and do some shopping. You don’t even have shorts.” She commented while Kakashi groaned. “It can’t be helped, it’s what the mission requires. We’re going somewhere warmer and tropical, you’ll need shorts.”

“Yeah… I just never knew shopping would be part of any of my missions.” He complained while she tossed him the bag.

“Let’s go, pack some sandals and we’ll head over to my place.” She told him while heading over to the door. Kakashi followed her grabbing some shoes and tossing them into the bag before they both left for her place.

* * *

Once at her house, she ran into the closet and pulled out two bottles of hair dye and grabbed a couple raggedy towels from the closet and headed over to Kakashi. He recoiled at the sight of the bottles. “Wha-what are you doing?” He stammered.

“Relax, the dye is temporary. With all the water we’ll be in, it won't last more than a week. Now strip down to just your pants.” She demanded. After hesitating, he began to strip down for her. Pulling up a chair she had him sit down and placed the towel around his neck. She began to dye his hair from silver, to a honey brown, much like her own hair color. “Alright, now we leave it in for a bit. I’ll tell you when.” She went into the bathroom and took off her bandana, sweatshirt, and mesh shirt, to begin to dye her own hair a chocolate brown color over the bathroom sink. 

Once she was done, she placed her hair in a bun and went off into the closet to pack her bag. She added some sun dresses, a couple yukatas, underwear, and a couple bathing suits. She reached into the drawer with her contacts and pulled out her pair of black ones. When she brought them out Kakashi was in the kitchen heating up the miso soup from this morning, the rice, and some gyoza he found in the fridge. “This contact should match your eye. Come here.” She held his face and pushed back the hair over his sharingan to put the contact in. When stood back to take a look, she saw two onyx colored eyes looking back at her and she smiled.

“It’s going to be weird not hiding this now.” He smiled.

“Well try to get used to it. Now what should your name be…” She rested back against the counter.

“You can be Erity…” He suggested.

“Hm…. I like it.” She smiled. “How about Kaori for you.” He nodded.

“Tamura Kaori and Erity.” He mentioned while starting to serve the food.

“Perfect.” She helped serve the food as they both sat down and ate. Once they were done she told him to go wash off the excess dye while she cleaned up. When she was done, Kakashi finished in the shower and she hoped in herself. When she got out, she placed her hair in a braid and finished it with a bow at the bottom. She walked out in a towel and headed to her vanity. “Kakashi.” She called out.

“Who’s Kakashi? I only know a Kaori.” He teased heading over to her. She stuck out her tongue to him while grabbing some concealer.

“Come here.” He crouched down before her as she put some concealer over his scar. After placing two layers, she grabbed some foundation and blended the concealer into the rest of his skin. “There… Take a look.” She suggested. He looked into the mirror.

“It’s weird. I don’t look anything like myself…” He trailed off.

“You still look good.” She commented before slapping his butt. He looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. She ignored his look and began to pack her makeup into her bag. On top of her dresser resided a jewelery box. When she opened it, she pulled out a gold ring with a single diamond on it and placed it onto her left ring finger. Next to it, she pulled out a gold band and handed it to Kakashi. “I don’t know if it’ll fit you, but it’s too big for me, so try it on.”

He took the ring and placed it onto his left ring finger. It was a little snug, but it fit. She walked into the closet and pulled out a pink cherry blossom yukata to put it on and tied it with a pink obi. Kakashi dressed in one of blue yukata with a black obi. They put on the wooden sandals by the door and stopped by the cherry blossom sapling before heading out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of serial killers, geez. Sorry I'm not more creative in this aspect of things. 
> 
> Also so there's only a few more chapters left in this part. After this the "Naruto" Portion will be over. I'll be posting the Shippuden part as something completely separate under the "Traveling soldiers" Thing. Which... I really kind of want to change that name but I'm actually really bad at coming up with titles. Suggestions are welcome. Also I've already written over 100 pages of the shippuden portion so there's not going to be a long wait or anything to get new chapters.


	48. That's going to bruise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> She walked over to him while swaying her hips from side to side and trailed fingers up his chest and behind his neck to pull him down to her. In his ear she whispered, “That sounds like something Kakashi would say instead of Kaori. We need to stay in character at all times except in front of the Anbu… Trust me, it’ll be better this way.”
> 
> “You realize that I’m still your captain…” He growled.
> 
> “Are you going to punish your subordinate?” she bit her bottom lip. He inhaled deeply and grabbed ahold of her face pressing his forehead against hers.
> 
> “As much as I would love to… We have to make sure we make our presence known and meet up with the Anbu later tonight. So let’s go out to eat first…” He moved his hand down to her neck and wrapped his hand around it. “And then we can come back and I can punish you before meeting up with them.”

After a few days travel by boat, they arrived at the inn per the mission information. After checking in as Tamura Kaori and Erity, they both went up to their room. After closing the door behind her she turned to him and giggled. “I can’t believe we’re married!”

He furrowed his brows and tried to hide a grin. “You realize we’re alone, right?”

She walked over to him while swaying her hips from side to side and trailed fingers up his chest and behind his neck to pull him down to her. In his ear she whispered, “That sounds like something Kakashi would say instead of Kaori. We need to stay in character at all times except in front of the Anbu… Trust me, it’ll be better this way.”

“You realize that I’m still your captain…” He growled.

“Are you going to punish your subordinate?” she bit her bottom lip. He inhaled deeply and grabbed ahold of her face pressing his forehead against hers.

“As much as I would love to… We have to make sure we make our presence known and meet up with the Anbu later tonight. So let’s go out to eat first…” He moved his hand down to her neck and wrapped his hand around it. “And then we can come back and I can punish you before meeting up with them.”

“Is that a promise?” She challenged. He squeezed his grip to answer and breathed her into a kiss. She gave into the hold he had on her and kissed back with a deep intensity. When he pulled back she let out a small whine.

“Patience my dear Erity.” He cooed. “I saw a nice place with fresh fish on our way to the inn, now let's go enjoy ourselves.” He took their bags and tossed them by the bed after releasing his grip around her. Taking her hand and interlocking fingers, he led her to the door to head to the restaurant he had seen earlier.

Once there, they ordered some sashimi and tendon.

In a low voice she began speaking, “I think it’s best we have an arranged marriage where we’ve never met before, this way we don’t have to know much about each other’s back stories to get along.” She suggested.

“How about I just let you do most of the talking instead.” His words sounded more like a statement than a suggestion. She pouted a little but eventually nodded.

“Well way to take the fun out of things.” She folded her arms under her chest. “If that’s how you want to play it, then you have to agree with everything I say.”

“Fine by me.” He shrugged taking a sip of his water.

_ I’m going to make this fun then.  _ She smirked looking around the room. Sadly, there were no other couples around. Instead she resorted to the waitress.

“Oh excuse me Miss, could we get two shots of sake, we just got married and I’m feeling celebratory.” She sang.

“Do you really think we should be drinking right now dear?” He asked annoyed.

“Oh, one little shot isn’t going to do anything. Besides, we’re celebrating our love!” She gave her biggest smile to them both. The waitress looked at them both smiled and nodded, rushing to the bar and bringing back a bottle of sake.

“Please take this, on the house.” The waitress smiled before leaving. She took the bottle and poured two shots in the saucers and held hers up. Begrudgingly Kaori held his up and they both sipped away at their sake.

“Aw come on, don’t be so grumpy, it’s our honeymoon. We should be enjoying ourselves.” She reached out to place her hand on his wrist, but he retracted his arm to place it on his lap.

“This is serious.” He told her sternly.

“I’m aware.” She told him while finishing her shot of sake.

“Doesn’t seem like you are…” He told her with his arms crossed against his chest.

“Hmmmm…. Lets see… We’re supposed to be two people on our honeymoon. Is that right?” She asked him. He nodded. “Who’s celebrating being on their honeymoon and looking happy and in love and who’s being a grumpy butt?” She pointed out pouring herself another shot of sake. He sighed and unfolded his arms. She rubbed her calf against his underneath the table and held out her saucer of sake. “Let’s try this again. To love.” She smiled sincerely.

“To love.” He half smiled before they both took their shots of sake. The waitress brought them their food and they began to eat. The taste of the freshly caught fish was sublime, as they enjoyed it all. They finished eating and finished up the sake. When they got back to the room it was later than they originally planned and needed to meet up shortly with the Anbu. They changed into their Anbu uniforms and she put on the hawk mask from the chunin exams, as he put on his old mask.

“It feels weird wearing this again after all this time…” He contemplated while looking at himself in the mirror. She came up from behind him and wrapped her arms around him while resting her head on his back.

“You going to be ok?” She asked quietly.

“What…? Oh… Yeah… I’ll be fine.” He reassured. “Now lets move out.” He commanded before flickering off to the rendezvous with her following closely behind. They met up in the center of the city at the top of a water tower, with her using her camouflage technique and trying for the first time to also conceal him. She managed to do so but only within a certain range. They both sat next to each other atop the water tower overlooking the town.

“The ocean looks nice… Maybe we can go to the beach tomorrow.” She suggested.

“I was wondering, how are you going to deal with your tattoos?” He questioned. “Won’t they be exposed?”

“Nah, I’ll just do a simple transformation while I’m out of the water. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Nothing I haven’t handled before.” She smiled only to remember he couldn’t see her. She reached out searching for his hand to place on top of his while she felt the salty ocean breeze hit her face. “They’re coming.” She warned.

Three men approached and stood on the water tower. Their masks had slits for eye holes. One with their mask half white and half yellow spoke, “They should be here shouldn’t they?”

Before she could release the jutsu, the one with red lines across their mask spoke. “They are here.”

They both stood up to greet the hidden mist Anbu. “Sorry, just a force of habit.” She chuckled nervously.  _ Why am I nervous? I know I’ve never worked with others before but this mission isn’t anything extra than what I’m used to… I have no reason to be nervous… _

“Nevermind that. What can you tell us about the killer?” Kakashi took command instantly.

“As I’m sure you already know, they strike newlyweds that come here on a honeymoon destination. They seem to be familiar with the locals as well as others from around the hidden mist, when we’ve sent in others from the hidden mist to try and lure them out, but the killer didn’t go for it. That’s why we’ve sought out help from elsewhere.” The one wearing a mask with blue swirls explained.

“Is there anything else that links the victims? Any places that they visited specifically? Are there any locals disgruntled about tourism?” She interrogated.

“We weren’t able to determine much about places they visited before their death. We also haven’t heard about any disgruntled locals… We will have one of our team following you both at all times.” The one with the blue swirls answered.

“Are you sure that’s wise? How do we know they won’t notice your presence and that’s the reason why the other plan didn’t work before?” He asked them.

“You’re not the only ones who can camouflage themselves somehow.” The one with the mask with red lines said.

“Yeah but if they’re a sensory type, they could still sense your chakra.” She pointed out.

“We have nothing indicating the person is even a shinobi… We highly doubt they’re a sensory type as well.” The one with half of the mask in yellow commented.

“Then how have they gone uncaught and undetected?” He asked.

Silence fell and the ocean breeze hit, moving her braid along with the wind.

“They seem to be luring the victims out somehow. We aren’t quite sure how. All we know is that they know the town well enough to know when to strike without being detected. We have no reason to believe that the person doing this is a shinobi. But… I suppose it’s not out of the realm of possibility.” The one with blue swirls admitted. “We should proceed with this in mind… And take extra precautions on concealing ourselves well.” The other two nodded behind them. “Are you two going to be able to handle yourselves if you are lured out?”

“It won’t be a problem.” Kakashi spoke for them both and she nodded in agreement. 

“Alright. Then we will proceed with the plan at hand. Don’t worry about us. Just… Focus on looking like honeymooners and keep yourselves on your toes.” The one with blue swirls confirmed. “Oh and it’d be helpful to see who we are supposed to be following.” He took off his mask immediately but she hesitated. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and she pulled off her mask. “And you’re staying in the room at the inn as planned?”

They both nodded and the three mist Anbu left. After they put their masks back on, she placed the camouflage over them both and headed back to the inn. Once there, she immediately took off her mask and the Anbu gear which she hated to wear still. Kakashi stood in front of the mirror staring at himself again. This time when she went to wrap her arms around him, he tensed up immediately. Still she held onto him and rested her head against his back.

“It’s ok…” She cooed. Walking around to face him, she took off his mask and pulled his face down to meet hers. “Putting on this mask doesn’t suddenly make you cold Kakashi again…” She whispered. He smiled at her warmth and began pulling off his gear.

“I’m still going to be cold, but for something else…” He told her seductively as he stripped down completely facing away from her.

“Is that so… Captain…?” She questioned putting on an innocent voice.

“Oh don’t try to be coy. You spoke out of turn today, you risked us being late, and you even tried giving  _ me _ orders.” He turned to tower over her.

“Me…?” She pointed at herself. “I did all that?” She asked quietly, trying to play innocent.

“No… I don’t want to see this… I want to see that animalistic desire I know I saw in you earlier.” He demanded. She continued to be coy, walking over to the bed sitting on it with one leg hanging, the other she pulled up to her chest and rested her head on her knee. He walked over to her, grabbed her by the chin, and pulled her in for a kiss. He slowly encroached her as she sank back laying on the bed. Reaching down to her underwear, he slid them aside, his finger slipping through her slit to rub her most sensitive area. A moan escaped from her lips as her arousal grew.

Just as she was starting to feel build up, he removed his finger and stopped the kiss. She turned him over and straddled him, her eyes filled with lust and her hands on his chest. “There she is.” He growled, summoning a shadow clone, as the clone came up from behind her grabbed both of her arms holding her wrists behind her back. The clone raised her wrists to lift her off of him and moved her off of the bed. He got up and stood in front of them while the clone behind her made her kneel before him. “Now open wide for me…” He told her while lifting her chin.

She started by licking his length from the base to the tip making sure to lick everything before finally wrapping her lips around his girth. Slowly she let her tongue swirl around his thickness looking up to see his reaction. His eyes rolled back into his head as she felt herself give a slight smirk just in time for him to see. She slowly took in his whole length as she relaxed her throat and looked up at him again to see him return lustful eyes. “So well behaved now that your mouth is full…” He cooed. “Now let’s make sure you understand your place with me as your captain.” He smirked as he took a hold of her face and thrust himself into her mouth groaning and grunting as he went. After a few thrusts he released her face to let her take over again as the shadow clone knelt behind her and started kissing along her neck and with his free hand, he inserted two fingers into her curving to hit her g-spot. She went down to lick down his shaft and cradle his balls in her mouth, letting occasional moans escape.

The clone held her back and pulled her up before merging again with him. “Now bend over the bed for me.” He demanded, but she just bit her lower lip and smiled. Twisting her he pushed the back of her head down against the bed and raised one of her legs up on the bed before inserting himself into her. She squeezed down hard on his girth making him groan. “I love how good you feel.” He growled leaning over her. When he straightened he slapped her cheek hard enough that she was sure it would bruise, causing her to wince and breathe in through gritted teeth and exhale a moan. Grabbing her by the hips, he began to thrust in and out of her. Their moans and grunts filled the room as skin slapped against skin. The heat between the two of them began to build as his pace quickened. She turned her face to look over her shoulder at him while clenching the sheets on the bed.

“Faster.” She begged.

“Just for you, for behaving and taking your punishment so well.” He told her reaching out and tracing his thumb on her lower lip. He moved his hand back to her hip and began to thrust into her at a faster pace. She could see him gritting his teeth as her body began to tremble as she could feel herself about to reach climax. After a few mother thrusts she felt her walls clench around him milking him as she orgasmed while he rode his out before collapsing onto her.

“I’m pretty sure I’m going to bruise there.” She pointed out, he chuckled going onto the bed.

“Maybe next time you should obey your superior.” He teased.

“You’re not going to let it go, are you?” She questioned.

“Nope, I’m going to hop into the shower, are you going to join?” He offered and she nodded.

“Well we certainly are acting like newlyweds.” She smiled following him into the shower while he laughed. When they finished the shower they got into bed and went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to last chapter for this part of the series. 
> 
> As I mentioned before, this will be continued on in the series as part of the Shippuden portion.


	49. Sun-kissed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpt:  
> About five days had passed and they hadn’t lured anyone out yet. Kakashi/Kaori was underneath an umbrella sitting in a beach chair reading away while she was out in the sun laying on her stomach reading as well. Kaori had a bandage wrapped around his arm to cover his Anbu tattoo while she used her transformation jutsu to cover hers. Although, she didn’t hide the handprint bruise he had left her. She thought it would be a good way to show that they’re newlyweds. They had taken playing the part of newlyweds very… seriously. If they weren’t up in their room, they were around the town taking in the sights, enjoying the food, or reading on the beach.
> 
> “Kaori…” she put her book down and laid on her side to face him, resting her head on her palm.
> 
> “Hmmm…?” He asked without looking up from his book.
> 
> “Now that we’re married, how long should we wait until we try having kids?”

About five days had passed and they hadn’t lured anyone out yet. Kakashi/Kaori was underneath an umbrella sitting in a beach chair reading away while she was out in the sun laying on her stomach reading as well. Kaori had a bandage wrapped around his arm to cover his Anbu tattoo while she used her transformation jutsu to cover hers. Although, she didn’t hide the handprint bruise he had left her. She thought it would be a good way to show that they’re newlyweds. They had taken playing the part of newlyweds very… seriously. If they weren’t up in their room, they were around the town taking in the sights, enjoying the food, or reading on the beach.

“Kaori…” she put her book down and laid on her side to face him, resting her head on her palm.

“Hmmm…?” He asked without looking up from his book.

“Now that we’re married, how long should we wait until we try having kids?” She asked waiting to see his reaction. If he had been eating, she could’ve sworn he’d have choked right there. She started giggling uncontrollably while he put his book down. He waggled his finger indicating for her to come over to him. She walked up to him and he pulled her into his lap where she rested her head on his shoulder.

“I know that we’re here for a reason…” He spoke quietly just enough for her to hear. “And I know why you asked it… But please don’t joke about that…”

“I’m so sorry I didn’t even… Wow I haven’t even… I’ve been so wrapped up in just enjoying the here and now that…” She stammered with a sudden guilt washing over her.  _ I haven’t thought about Obito at all since I’ve been here… _

“It’s ok…” He told her brushing her hair out of her face. “It shows you’re moving on… I’m just not there yet.” He half smiled. She placed a hand on his cheek and kissed his forehead before leaning into his ear.

“I’m going to miss seeing your face this much when this is all over.” She smiled at him.

“Well it’s still yours to peek at any time.” He smiled back.

“I’m feeling hungry and the sun is setting.” She commented.

“And you’re looking perfectly sun-kissed.” He kissed her forehead. 

“Should we go and get something to eat?” She asked and he nodded. She got up and put on her sundress over her bathing suit, finally being able to release her transformation jutsu. She rolled up the towel and placed it in the beach bag along with her book. They took their things back to the inn before going back down to a local bar. They both ate and she had a few shots of sake feeling the heat on her cheeks. Walking back to their room, she got dressed in her Anbu gear as did he. She tossed him his mask before putting on her own and they both headed out for the rendezvous point with her camouflaging the both of them.

By the time they got there, the three Anbu soldiers were already waiting for them.

“You’re both late.” The one wearing the mask with red lines said.

“Have you seen anything at all in these past five days?” Kakashi asked, taking charge again.

“No. No movement from anything we’ve seen from our vantage points.” The one with blue swirls answered. “Have you seen anything?”

“Not yet. I thought I might’ve detected something at the bar we were at earlier but…” She told them.

“Oh…?” Kakashi asked.

“It was too early to tell anything. I also couldn’t determine who exactly in the bar was giving off the sensation but… Be alert. It might happen soon.” She explained.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have come, what if they attack now?” The one with the half yellow mask asked.

“We’re not amateurs, we left shadow clones behind.” She argued taking a step forward but Kakashi quickly placed an arm against her chest to hold her back.

“Excuse my partner. She’s a little… prideful.” Kakashi mentioned. The one in the half yellow mask scoffed.

“The one you detected earlier… What was it?” The one with blue swirls asked.

“Their chakra was… Disturbed. It was… an unsettling presence. That’s all I have to offer you right now, sorry.” She carefully put.

Kakashi turned to her to say, “If you heard something… I think you should say it.” She hesitated not wanting to reveal her full abilities to these people she didn’t know. Much less people from another village.

Before she could say anything the one in the half yellow mask spoke, “Maybe you should bruise her up a bit and put her in her place again… Captain.” Before they could react the one in the mask with blue swirls punched the one in the half yellow mask.

“Forgive my subordinate… He’s a dumbass. But we are supposed to be working together here. It would help if you told us everything.” The one in the mask with blue swirls discussed.

“You’re right… I’m sorry. I heard them a little, again I don’t know who it was from… But it was a deep disturbed anger towards us. Not just for being outsiders, but also for the concept of us being happy and in love. That’s all I have.” She elaborated. The one in the mask with blue swirls nodded.

“We will continue to do our part.” The one with the blue swirls informed.

“We will continue to do ours.” Kakashi told them.

“The easy part…” The one in the half yellow mask scoffed and she let out a guttural growl. Kakashi placed his arm against her chest again.

“I suggest you teach your subordinate some manners, next time I might not be so inclined to hold my partner back.” Kakashi spoke to the hidden mist Anbu Captain. He turned to her, “Let’s go.” He commanded. She put her camouflage cloak on the both of them and they left. 

By the time they got back to the inn it seems the clones had just gotten done having sex, when they merged she felt a sense of relaxation wash over her. “Ugh just what I needed.” She smiled while taking off her mask.

“I’m sorry about what the one operative said. It’s not right, but we can’t let his comments get in the way of the mission at hand either.” He explained.

“I understand. Trust me, if I didn’t do you really think that I’d let your arm stop me?” She joked while he chuckled.

“I suppose not.” He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “Lets go to bed.” He suggested before kissing her cheek. She yawned and nodded before waddling with the man who would not let her go, towards the bed. Once they got in, they fell asleep shortly after.

* * *

The next evening they found themselves at a local bar again. They had just finished eating and she was enjoying a few shots of sake. “Maybe you should take it easy on the sake.” He suggested.

“Eh it’s fiiiiiine. I can sober up if I need to, trust me. Easy peasy.” She reassured him. That’s when she heard those thoughts again… The anger. She sobered herself up some using her chakra and transmitted her thoughts to Kakashi.  _ They’re here. I don’t know who it is, but they’re off somewhere at my 2 o’clock. _ He nodded and subtly made a hand sign that she didn’t recognize. “Do you want me to get you a beer?” She smiled.

“That would be lovely.” He smiled back squeezing her hand before she got up to leave. She went to the bar which is also where the voice was coming from. While there she asked the bartender for a beer. Laying her eyes on each person at the bar one by one, she determined that it was the man sitting at the end. He had shoulder length chocolate brown hair and dark circles under his piercing orange eyes. Other than his eyes, there was nothing that stood out about him, and he blended in extremely well with the crowd at the bar tonight. Their eyes locked and she gave him a gentle smile while he looked away awkwardly.

After the bartender gave her the beer, she went back to Kakashi. She handed him the beer and sat down before him and began transmitting her thoughts to him.  _ The man at the end of the bar with the orange eyes.  _ He took the napkin holder and placed it in the middle of the table to adjust to see the man, while she took a napkin and wiped her nose. In her periphery, she saw the man head outside and pull out a pack of cigarettes. “I think I’m going to go see if I can bum a cigarette.”

“I really wish you wouldn’t smoke.” He told her sternly.

“Relax Kaori, one cigarette once in a while is fine.” She insisted while getting up. He grabbed her wrist, looked her dead in the eye and repeated himself.

“Erity, I really wish you wouldn’t smoke.” He stated in a more demanding tone this time.

“Kaori, it’ll be fine.” She leaned down to kiss his forehead as he loosened the grip he had on her, she walked out towards the door. Standing across from the man who she knew was dangerous, she rested up against a porch pole. “Do you mind if I bum one from you?” The man pulled one out and lit it before handing it to her. She took a long drag.

“Why don’t you have your own?” the man asked.

“It’s more of a social thing for me. Besides, husband isn’t too fond of me smoking.” She smiled.

“You two newlyweds?” The man asked.

“That obvious huh?” She chuckled. “I hope we haven’t been too annoyingly gross.”

“Not anymore than the one that got away and her new husband.” The man mentioned offhandedly before taking a drag.

“That’s a shame. What happened if you don’t mind me asking?” She questioned.

“She couldn’t see me for all the joy I could bring her, instead went chasing after some foreigner from the land of sand.” He explained.

“I know what it’s like to have someone not be able to understand or see the real you.” She acknowledged before taking a long drag.

“So you understand?” He asked in disbelief and she nodded while exhaling a cloud of smoke. He approached her and caressed her face. “Such a shame I have to do this then.” She felt a sudden rush of euphoria consume her, and all she knew was the need for the man before her. It was like her body had a mind of its own as her legs followed after him into the dark alley and off into the maze of palm trees. Without getting too deep into the maze, they could hear some shouting “Erity!” In the distance.

“Call out to him.” The man commanded. Somewhere deep inside her mind she knew that would be a bad idea, but the rest of her mind was consumed by this euphoric genjutsu she was under.

“Kaori!” She screamed, sounding scared. The man before her laughed at her scream.

“Oh you poor little thing, don’t even know what’s going on do you? Have you even realized you’re not in control anymore or are you all consumed by me?” He asked before approaching her, starting to pull her into an embrace. The man began to caress her body feeling all over her.

“Release!” She felt Kakashi behind her and slipped away from the man's grasp while the man ran off into the maze. They both began to chase after him. “What happened?!”

“It’s a really strong genjutsu. It’s activated by touch.” She explained while running beside him. Using her teleport she pulled out her sai.

“I told you not to go out after him, you need to stay back for this one.” He instructed while looking straight ahead as she watch the man they were chasing.

“I’m sorry for going out alone with him, but I’m not letting you face this man alone.” She threw a sai at the man while running, but only managed to graze him and tear his shirt. When they both reached the tree with the sai stuck in it they stopped for a moment.

“Dammit Kessho I am the captain and you will follow my orders!” He shouted while slamming his fist against the tree. “I have the sharingan, I can see through genjutsu!” He yelled before taking the contact out of his eye. “Now you stay behind and wait for the Anbu, rejoin with us when they arrive. For now you stay here.” He demanded. She had never heard him this angry before. She felt ashamed and guilty. After pulling out the sai from the tree she nodded while looking down at the ground and he vanished.

After a minute or two the three Anbu arrived. “What happened? Where is he?”

“He’s up ahead but we should stay back. He has a powerful genjutsu that can render you immobile with touch alone.” She filled them in.

“Hell no, we’re going in there!” The one with the half yellow mask exclaimed but the one with the mask with blue swirls held up his arm to hold the other back.

“Why?” Blue swirls asked.

“Because my partner is Kakashi of the Sharingan. He can see through genjutsu. We should act as backup.” She explained. The one with blue swirls nodded.

“Lead the way.” Blue swirls agreed and motioned for her to take the lead.

She camouflaged herself and headed towards where she had seen them run off to. Kakashi had him cornered as they had ran into nothing but ocean. She climbed up to hang against a palm tree behind the man while staying hidden.

She transmitted her thoughts to Kakashi,  _ I’m behind the man, the three Anbu are behind you flanking the area if he tries to get away. _

_ Can you drop down and distract him for a moment? That’s all I’ll need.  _ Kakashi asked her. She showed herself and nodded which he saw. She dropped down behind the man.

“I came for you. I want more of that absolute ecstasy you gave me.” She told the man. He turned around and the sound of bird chirping filled the air. “Your touch brought me more happiness than anything else ever could” She tried to say with wonder and awe in her voice. Suddenly there was a bright light coming through the man and she quickly skidded back. The light faded and the man fell forward.

“Are you ok?” Kakashi asked her. She nodded as the three Anbu men approached.

“We thank you for your help, we are indebted to you both.” The one with blue swirls spoke.

“More like indebted to Kakashi, not this damsel in distress over here.” The one with the half yellow mask scoffed. She handed Kakashi her sai by placing them against his chest, which he quickly grabbed on to. The other two Anbu soldiers backed away holding up their arms, moving themselves out of the way. “Oh you think you can take me?” He asked. She camouflaged herself and diffused her chakra, disappearing before him. “What the…?” Slowly, she walked up behind him without making a sound. She approached his ear without making a sound or touching him.

“I know I can take you.” She told him and he jumped forward nearly sliding and falling over. He looked around twisting and turning. After approaching his left side just as quietly and cautiously, she whispered, “I thought you were a sensory type…” He continued to circle beginning to punch the air. Once he finally thought to look down, she stepped only in footsteps he had already made himself. “Doesn’t seem you’re very good.” She taunted while behind him, he immediately punched behind him, she swept his feet out from underneath him, teleported a kunai and straddled him while holding the kunai to his throat finally revealing herself to him. “Next time, don’t talk shit unless you can back it up.” She warned while getting off of him.

“The fuck are you? Some kind of ghost?” The man in the half yellow mask asked while retreating back to his teammates adjusting the cuffs of his long sleeved shirt. She shrugged and walked back to Kakashi.

“You went a lot easier on him than I thought you would.” Kakashi told her loud enough for the others to hear. She grabbed her sai.

“There’s nothing quite as powerful as a good tease… After all… Now he knows I can be watching him… At any. Time. Any. Where.” She smirked while she heard Kakashi chuckle behind her.

“Easy…” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Again, we thank you. We couldn’t have done it without you Kakashi… and…?” The one with blue swirls asked.

“Erity.” She stated simply yet she could sense the disbelief so she added, “Ghosts don’t have names. Sorry.” She shrugged.

“Very well Erity. We have to ask though… Are you two  _ actually  _ newlyweds?” The one with blue swirls asked. She looked to Kakashi and let him answer.

“No, we are not actually newlyweds.” He confirmed without giving anything else away.

“But you two are  _ actually  _ a couple… Right?” Blue swirls questioned.

“Yes, and with that I think we are going to head out.” Kakashi and her moved along past the Anbu as they heard them bickering about collecting bets. She teleported away her sai and pulled out the other contact that would match Kakashi’s eye. Once they got to the alley and the streetlight was hitting with no one watching she stopped him. She placed a hand on his cheek.

“I’m going to put the contact in, ok?” She told him and he nodded. She pulled his lid up with her thumb and gently placed the contact in to cover his sharingan. “I’m sorry for not following your orders… I’m just not-“

“I know you’re not used to working with others and I know you’re just used to trusting your gut and going with it. But when you’re on a team, it’s not just about you… It’s everyone on your team you have to think about. If I didn’t know you as well as I do, I wouldn’t have noticed the genjutsu because I wasn’t thinking about using the sharingan. I could’ve been placed under the genjutsu and we would’ve been done for…” She looked down in shame and placed a hand on her arm trying to hold herself. He cupped both of her cheeks to bring her gaze to meet his. “I’m not telling you this to scold you… I’m telling you so you learn… I actually liked working with you… When you weren’t being a stubborn pain in the ass.” He smiled and she tried to muster a half smile. “I still do have to report everything that happened, but I’ll be there to hold your hand when Lady Tsunade yells at you.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “Just make sure to listen to your captain…”

“I’m sorry… But I understand better now. I’ll do better.” She told him with sincerity in her voice. She knew she had done wrong, but in the moment she simply rushed to do what she knew best how to do.

They went back to the inn and slept through the night, the next morning they made their way back to the village hidden in the leaves. When they turned in the report to the hokage, Lady Tsunade began to yell at her just as Kakashi had predicted. She bowed her head, asked for forgiveness, and told the Hokage she would do better while Kakashi held her hand through all of it. Once out of the office, she looked up to him and she knew... that even after everything they had been through… They would be alright. 

* * *

Thank you all so much for reading my story! I hope you all enjoyed it! The next part will follow in cannon with shippuden and is posted along with other things in the To: My Loving Star series. The title is Cherry Blossom. It's already started too so you won't have to wait long for it. I hope you enjoyed reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to all of you! <3

**Author's Note:**

> The title of the story will become clear in a few chapters.
> 
> I edited the notes to add:  
> Ummm so I'm just now watching shippuden for the first time and I accidentally made my OC like Sai before knowing Sai existed. Sorry about that...


End file.
